The Secrets of Time
by keelykelly
Summary: The girls have been musketeers for four years and have experienced it all. But... they weren't expecting their next problem to be caused by a dead man. Or that Corinne would be have to face a secret fear that leaves her paralyzed every time.
1. Prologue

_It was nearly nine o' clock. Dark clouds covered the moon, casting the whole land into pitch blackness, A cold wind swept across the countryside bringing it's threat of rain._

_Inside a small cabin, A musketeer named D'artagnon was laying on the floor reading a book to his five year old daughter, who was laying on his back, reading over his shoulder._

"_And they lived Happily Ever After. The End." D'artagnon ended, closing the book._

"_Daddy?" Corinne said, laying her chin on top of his head "Why is it always the boy doing the saving?"_

"_Well, Honey." D'artagnon answered "Because girls are the only things that can be Damsels in Distress."_

_Corinne frowned "Why can there be... Dudes in Distress?"_

"_There are Dudes in Distress." D'artagnon chuckled "Just most of them are too arrogant to ask for help." he looked over his shoulder at his blond haired daughter "While girls are smart and amazing. They're never afraid to ask for help when they need it."_

_Corinne nodded slowly "O-h. So a girl would actually make a better musketeer, right?"_

"_Probably." _

_They sat there quietly for a moment before Corinne rolled off her father's back and landed on the floor beside him "Daddy?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_Is mommy going to be mad when she gets home and finds me still awake?"_

"_Yep."_

"_Aren't you scared of mommy?"_

"_Yep."_

"_Why?" her icy blue eyes were wide and sparkling "You fight bad guys!"_

"_Well, Sweetheart." D'artagnon got to his feet and picked her up "There's a big difference between a bad guy and an angry mother. Or any angry woman for that matter." he carried her to her small room and laid her down on her bed. Then he tucked her tan blanket under her chin "Good night, Sweetheart." he kissed her forehead then walked towards the door._

"_Daddy?" Corinne said, pulling her blanket up over her nose "When I grow up, can I become a musketeer like you?"_

_D'artagnon smile "You can be anything you want, Corinne. All you have to do is believe you can do it and be brave. And remember, true courage is pursuing your dreams. Even when everyone else says it's impossible."_

_Corinne nodded "Ookey-dookey. Nighty-night Poppy."_

_Marie arrived home five minutes later, after going and telling her daughter goodnight, they retired._

_**Corinne's eyes sprang **open and she sat up.  
It was nearly midnight and she could hear shouting over top of the howling wind. It sounded like her father and another man._

_She threw back her covers, quickly stood up and tiptoed over to her bedroom door. She eased the door open and slipped out. Her mother was nowhere in sight._

_She tiptoed over to the front window and peered through the darkness. She could see both of her parents standing outside. Outside, facing her parents was a man. He seemed to be about six foot three and he was built like a bull. His eyes were dark and piercing and he had a long ugly scar that started at his hair line, went through his left eye then zigzagged across his cheek. He was shouting about something that she couldn't hear. _

_Corinne ran over to the front door and opened it._

_Rain was softly falling and a light rumble of thunder echoed through the air. An occasional streak of lightning lit up the sky._

"_Where is it D'artagnon?" the man shouted "Tell me NOW!"_

"_I don't have it!" D'artagnon replied hotly "If I were you, I'd watch it. Being an escape from prison and all. The musketeers are coming after you." he really wished he had his sword on him, but it was sitting on top of the fireplace._

"_Where did you hide it?" the man growled. Just then, his gaze landed on Corinne "Fine. If you won't tell me, I'll make you tell me!" without another word, he jumped forward and grabbed the small girl "Au revoir."_

"_Corinne!" D'artagnon shouted in alarm "No!"_

"_Put me down!" Corinne demanded, kicking the man as hard as she could._

_The man jumped up onto a horse that was nearby "You might want to reconsider!" then he turned the horse around and sent it at a full gallop from the yard._

_D'artagnon ran for the barn as fast as he could and quickly mounted Alexander, not bothering with tack or anything._

"_Your sword." Marie said, handing it to him "Please, bring back my baby!"_

"_I will, Marie." D'artagnon kicked Alexander's sides "Let's go boy!"_

_The chase went on for several miles. Corinne kicked and fought against the man, but he wouldn't release her._

_Finally, the man pulled his horse to a stop and jumped to the ground, taking Corinne with him._

_The rain was pouring from the sky, making it hard to see._

_D'artagnon strained in the darkness to spot any sign of the man and his daughter "Corinne! Where are you?"_

_After several minutes of calling, a very faint voice reached his ears "Daddy! Help!"_

_He followed the voice till he found them and what he saw made his heart come completely still._

_The man was standing by a cliff, holding Corinne by her jumper straps, two hundred feet above a crashing waterfall._

_The rain made the river run even more fierce than usual. It's crashing waters were louder than the thunder._

"_Daddy." Corinne whimpered, too scared to move "Help."_

"_You had a choice, D'artagnon!" the man shouted "And you chose wrong!"_

_The musketeer slowly got down from his horse "Please... put her down... on the ground. I'll get you what you want, just let my daughter go."_

"_You're too late!" The man sneered "You're... Too... LATE!" his hand opened, releasing Corinne from his grasp._

"_NO!" D'artagnon cried, lunging forward. His chest slammed into the rock as he attempted to grab her but missed._

"_DADDY!" Corinne's scream echoed through the air, followed by a splash into the river below._

"_No!" D'artagnon jumped back to his feet and spun around, laying a punch into the side of the man's face, then he jumped on Alexander's back and took off down the mountain._

_Corinne gasped as her head broke through the surface, but she was quickly pulled back under. _

_The current was too strong and it just pushed the five year old no matter how hard she fought "Daddy!" she cried as she grabbed onto a rock "Daddy! Help!"_

_But the water soon pulled her away, pushing her further down the stream towards the waterfall._

"_Daddy!" she screamed over and over "Daddy!" the water went over her head and she fought to get back to air. As her head came back above the water, she saw the waterfall just a few feet away "No. No! Daddy!" the water seemed to fall out from beneath her as the river pitched downward, dragging the child with it._

**Corinne gasped as **she opened her eyes and stared at the wall. It had been sixteen years since that happened and she still could never seem to forget it.

She shivered slightly and pulled her covers tightly around herself. No matter how hard she tried she could never forget the feeling of the water pulling her beneath it's surface. The frightening feeling of not being able to breathe. Then the feeling of the whole world falling away, leaving you falling through an endless amount of space, only to be plunged back into a dark, cold place with no air to breath and no strength to try.

**(New story! Okay, at the beginning of every chapter is going to be a snip-it from Corinne's past that leads up to the story that's happening now! Yay! Enjoy!)**


	2. The Summer Palace

_D'artagnon watched helplessly as his only child fell down the one hundred and seventy-five foot drop. He couldn't breathe as he dismounted Alexander and ran to the river bank, desperately scanning the water for any sign of his precious girl._

_Finally he saw her. With his heart still in his throat he ran into the river and scooped his child from the water. Once he got to the river bank with her, he laid her down on the ground "Come on, Precious." he whispered, trying to force the water from her "Come back to me, Honey."_

_What seemed like an eternity later, Corinne started coughing, then her eyes fluttered open "Daddy?"_

"_I'm right here, Sweetheart." He said, relief flooding his whole being "I am so sorry. This never should have happened."_

_The girl managed a weak smile "You saved me Daddy. I love you."_

_D'artagnon pulled his daughter into a tight hug "I was so afraid I'd lose you."_

_Corinne returned the hug, her small arms wrapping around her father's neck. She slowly looked over at the river and just stared at it as she subconsciously inched further away._

**The three**** girls **left their apartment and headed to the castle for their early morning cleaning chores.

"Do you think Corinne's up?" Aramina asked.

"I'd say so." Renee said, pointing to the front steps "She's standing right there."

"Hi!" Corinne waved to them "What's up?"

"It's time to clean." Renee responded "You been up for a while?"

"Mm-hm."

The four girls entered the castle together, just talking about this that and another.

"Good Morning, Girls." Madame Helene greeted "Before you start in the Grand Hall, the King wishes to see you."

The four nodded, then Corinne led the way down one of the halls.

When they reached Louis' office door, Corinne pushed it open "Hey."

Louis looked up from a paper he was signing and smiled "Hi, Corinne. Girls."

"Helene told us you needed something."

"Yeah." The young king pushed back from his seat and stood up "Tomorrow I'm hoping to leave for a summer house on the beach that's been in my family for years."

Corinne's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't say anything.

"I've told Treville that I want you three to be some of the musketeers that come."

"We get to go to your summer house!?" Aramina squealed "Oh! It's my second biggest dream come true."

Louis smiled "That is, if you want to go... Corinne?"

The blond's gaze snapped to his face, her expression unreadable "If... that is your order, Your Highness." then she left the office.

Louis' eyebrows lowered in confusion, then he shot from the room, completely forgetting about the other three who, of course, followed.

"Corinne!" he called, running down the hall "Wait!"

Corinne stopped and turned to face the young man "Yes?"

"Is everything okay?" he asked, coming to a stop just a few inches in front of her.

"Of course everything's okay." Corinne laughed "Why do you ask?"

"You just... called me 'Your Highness'." Louis answered.

That made Corinne burst out laughing "You get worried when I switch to formalities for a second?"

"Well..." he scratched the back of his head. A motion that Corinne had long since discovered was a sign that he was nervous "It took me off guard. You haven't used formalities in a long time. I thought you might be mad at me for something."

"No." she shook her head a mischievous smile on her face "I was simply accepting your orders."

"It wasn't an order for _you._" Louis responded "I was asking if you _wanted_ to."

"If you want to, I'll go." she looked up to meet his gaze "By the way, I've been a musketeer four years, one of them we've been married, and you never told me you had a summer house. And you've never been there."

Louis shrugged "Didn't really feel like going." then he smiled "But, I thought you might like to see it."

Corinne's smile was forced "That's very... sweet of you." she pushed a strand of hair from her face then quickly kissed his cheek "Well, we've got a lot of work to do. We're leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Okay." she turned around and walked away, the smile immediately leaving her face _"Oh joy."_

**They arrived at **their destination right after lunch the next morning.

A palace, much smaller than the castle but still huge, was set on the beach. A large balcony stretched out over the waves facing the sunset.

"Oh it's beautiful." Aramina sighed.

"It is." Viveca agreed.

"Would you look at the ocean!" Renee added.

"Yeah." Corinne groaned "Look at it."

Renee looked over at her curiously "I thought you'd be more excited."

"We've been riding for hours." Corinne answered quickly "I'm really tired of sitting."

"I have to agree." Viveca said, shifting in her saddle "I am getting saddle sore."

Louis stepped out of his carriage and smiled at the girls "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful." Viveca answered.

Corinne dismounted from her horse "Yeah. It's definitely nice."

Louis' grin widened "Actually, Corinne. What I wanted you to see was..." he turned her to face the palace and pointed up to a cliff a few miles past "That."

Corinne looked where he indicated.

A large lighthouse overlooked the ocean.

"I thought if you like the balloon, you'd like a lighthouse."

Corinne laughed softly, slightly leaning back into the young king "It's beautiful. Definitely." _"At least it's not in the water."_

Louis kissed the top of her head "Let's go." then he went and crawled back into the carriage "You know you can join me, right?" he asked teasingly.

Corinne grinned and shook her head as she slipped her foot in her horse's stirrups "I think I'd rather be in a saddle then in a box."

Louis simply chuckled "I assumed as much." then he closed the door and Treville, who was driving the carriage, slapped the reins and they started forward again. He shook his head.

It was still confusing having Corinne as a musketeer _and _queen. He never knew whether he was suppose to give her orders or take them.

"Hey, guess what!" Renee said "We can do water training!"

Corinne's breath caught in her throat and she began to cough uncontrollably.

"Are you alright?" Viveca asked, sending the blond a worried glance.

Corinne nodded "Yeah. Just... swallowed a bug." she flashed them a smile then turned her attention back straight ahead.

"Anyways." Renee said "While we're here, we can train _in _the water! You know?"

Corinne chuckled dryly "Why? There's no water back in Paris."

"It's be something new!" Renee insisted "And besides, we're here for the entire summer. You tell me that nothing's going to happen."

Corinne sighed inwardly. Renee had a point. They couldn't seem to go a full week without _something _coming up.

"There might be pirates!" Aramina pipped up.

"Pirates I can handle." Corinne responded "If they come to land we'll just send them off again."

"What if they're in the water?" Renee asked suspiciously.

"The only reason there will be to fight in the water is if they have mermaids helping them."

"Corinne," Renee said "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were avoiding the water."

"But that's ridiculous." Viveca laughed "No one in their right mind is afraid of water."

The other two laughed along with her, agreeing completely.

Louis watched as Corinne looked away from her friends, her expression was one she'd never had before.

"There's no way she's afraid of water." He said to himself "Is there?"

**When they reached **the castle, all the male musketeers carried in the luggage while the girls looked around.

"This is amazing." Corinne had to admit.

"Isn't it!" Aramina squealed "I think it's... PERFECT!"

"How about helping with the luggage." One musketeer, Pierre groaned, pulling a large chest from the top of the carriage.

Corinne smirked "Now Pierre, don't tell me that the chest is too heavy for you."

"I'd like to see you try and carry it!" the musketeer retorted.

"I'm the one that put it up there."

Pierre became silent, then he hurried (as fast as his load would allow) away.  
The four girls laughed as the boy disappeared inside the castle.

"Oops." Corinne said in fake horror "Did I fail to mention that Renee was helping me pull while Aramina and Viveca pushed?"

Louis' laugh made all four of them spin around "I'm _sure _you forgot."

Corinne chuckled "Hello."

"Well, because there is no apartments here, you girls will have to pick a room in the palace." Louis said, then added with a tease "I'm sure you're disappointed."

"Live _in _the castle!?" Aramina squealed "Third dream come true!"

"Okay, which dream is finding true love?" Renee asked.

"That's the ultimate dream." Aramina retorted.

Louis held his hand out to Corinne and smiled "Would you like a tour?"

Corinne nodded and quickly slipped her hand into his "Are there any secret passageways?"

"Not that I know of."

"Then again, you probably would have said the same thing about the other castle before Philippe tried to kill you."

"Probably."

Aramina grabbed Renee and Viveca's arms "Now _that _is a perfect couple."

The other two nodded in agreement "Definitely"

"Different as night and day but perfect for each other." Renee added.

After a quick tour Louis ended at the doors of the balcony that went out over the ocean "And I'm sure before the week is up, you four will probably know more about this place than I do."

"Probably." the four girls chorused.

Louis turned to face the balcony and Corinne froze.

It _had _to go at _least _fifty feet out. She knew her friends would figure out she was afraid of water if they went out there because there was _no _way she'd be able to follow!

"_Distraction!" _she thought frantically "Race you to the second tower!" she said right before she spun around and took off running.

"Oh no she didn't!" Renee gasped, then she sprinted after the blond. The other two followed.

Louis cocked his head confused. He was starting to think his assumption was correct.

Corinne glanced over her shoulder and grinned as she saw her three friends in hot pursuit.

"Not fair!" Viveca called "You know you can always outrun us! Even when you don't get a head start!"

Corinne simply laughed and ducked through a door way that led to a large, spiral set of stairs.

"Corinne!" Aramina said "This is the first tower! Not the second!"

"Oh she knows." Renee responded "And if she does what I think she's going to do, I'm calling her crazy!"

Corinne flew up the stairs, taking them two at a time. A grin crossed her face as she saw the door up ahead. She burst into the small room and without stopping, ran out to the small balcony leapt onto the railing and jumped. She grabbed onto a banned that was hanging nearby and swung across the expanse between the two towers.

Aramina, Viveca and Renee skid to a stop as Corinne flew through the air. A moment later, she released the banner, flipped a couple of times then landed safely on the railing of the other tower.

Viveca chuckled "That's your cue Renee."

Renee shook her head "You are crazy!"

Corinne laughed as she jumped to the safe ground of the balcony "I won!"

"Cheater!" The other three shouted teasingly.

Corinne bowed "You should try it sometime!"

"I would rather not." Renee snorted "See you downstairs. I'm starving!"

"Alright!" Corinne walked towards the door to the room "See ya!"

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, Louis glanced out the window and smiled "You up to seeing that lighthouse?"

Corinne nodded "Definitely!"

Louis told Treville what they were doing, and the captain immediately said he'd get them some guards.

"Whoa! Hold on half a minute!" Corinne injected "I've already told you, Treville. No guards. I can't stand being guarded."

"It's for your own good." Treville argued "I insist."

"Nu-huh." Corinne shook her head "No guards."

"Cor..."

"Captain." the blond raised an eyebrow and smiled "That's an order."

Treville groaned as he realized she was speaking as the Queen, not a musketeer. And he had no power over her decision "As you wish, Your Majesty."

Louis chuckled "Shall we?"

Corinne flashed the captain a winning smile then quickly walked out the door, Louis right behind her.

Treville groaned and shook his head "Why am I Captain when one of the musketeers is the Queen and tells _me _what to do?!"

Aramina, Viveca, and Renee all burst out laughing.

"It's okay Captain." Viveca smiled "I'm sure everything will be fine."

**(I know no one imagines Corinne being afraid of water. I don't either, but it really makes an interesting story!.. I hope. Also, this is probably going to be the most 'romantic' story I have and ever will write. But I _promise _it will _not _become rated T or lower (or higher... which ever way it goes :) It will remain K+! So I hope you enjoy! Thanks for the reviews!)**


	3. The Lighthouse

_D'artagnon tucked the blankets in around the shivering girl "You'll be okay."_

_Corinne nodded her teeth chattering "D-dont t-t-ell m-momm-my. Okay?"_

"_Okay, Honey." D'artagnon pushed her sopping hair from her face "Just get warm."_

_Marie came back in the room just then with some rags and a bowl of hot water._

_It was later that evening when the girl was finally warm and dry, although she had caught a cold from the day's misadventures._

"_Daddy?" Corinne said as she pulled the blankets up to her chin "What did he want?"_

_D'artagnon sighed and sat on the edge of the bed "Corinne. Bing a musketeer means protecting France. And protecting France means protecting it's secrets."_

"_Secrets?"  
"Mm-hm. Secret treasures and stuff." He shook his head slowly "Those treasures were hidden away years ago, but then they were discovered by Flint Griffin."_

"_Is that the man who was here tonight?"_

"_Yes."_

_Corinne sat up and pushed her hair over her shoulder "But why was he asking you for it?"_

"_Well, let's just say when he found it, I found him." D'artagnon rose from his spot on the bed "I was given the box and was told to find a new place to hide it. That's why he came after me."_

_Corinne stared at her father "But, Daddy. He got away."_

**Corinne and Louis **rode up to the Lighthouse.

"I always did want to see the inside of a lighthouse." Corinne said as she dismounted.

Louis' eyes sparkled, informing her she'd said the right thing "I guessed you had. I suppose this is a little safer than the balloon."

"Which makes it not quite as fun." Corinne laughed "Come on!" she grabbed Louis' hand and ran into the lighthouse.

She took the stairs up two at a time, quickly leaving Louis behind. When she reached the top where the light was, she stopped then walked out onto the circular porch.

The view was breathtaking. You could see for miles around. The ocean stretched on forever, the setting suns rays reflecting off of the waves.

She leaned against the railing and looked around, trying to take in the scene.

Louis stepped out behind her "So, what do you think?"

"It's beautiful." she sighed "Definitely amazing."

He placed his hands on the railing on either side of her and placed his chin on top of her head "I'm glad you like it. I haven't been here since I was thirteen."

She frowned "Why not?"

"That's when my father died." he answered quietly "This was my parents' favorite spot. I guess after they died, I didn't want much to do with it."

"So why come now?" she turned around and looked up at him, leaning back into the railing.

Louis looked down at her and smiled "You."

She cocked her head confused "Me?"

He nodded "You've given me something back that I lost when my parents died. You made me _want _to come back. I wanted to see the place where my parents always felt the closest together again." he smiled at her "I wanted you to see it."

Corinne sighed "You know Louis, sometimes I wonder if you made a mistake."

His eyebrows lowered in concern "What do you mean?"

She laughed to ease his conscience "_I_ didn't make a mistake, trust me. But... I can't help but wonder if I was really the best choice for a queen of France."

Louis chuckled "I hadn't really thought about it." he said "But if I did make a mistake, it's the best one I've ever made." then he leaned down and kissed her, knowing there was no way for her to escape... and she didn't try.

Her eyes fluttered closed as her hands found their way to his shoulders. It was strange how natural being so close to him became.

Before she could stop it, a laugh erupted from Corinne's throat, breaking the moment.

Louis looked at her curiously "What?"

Corinne shook her head "Nothing. It's just... remember how awkward that used to be?"

Louis chuckled "_Used _to be?"

She shrugged "Things change."

He just shook his head and grinned "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Are you... avoiding the water?"

Corinne stared at him for a long... long moment. Her face had gone completely blank.

He couldn't tell what she was thinking.

Finally she spoke "No."

He tilted his head to the side "Are you sure?"

"Trust me." She flashed him a wide smile "Like the others said, no one in their right mind is afraid of the water." then she turned around and leaned against the railing. She swallowed the lump that was in her throat. Shed just lied... to Louis. But she had to. There was no way she was going to let _anyone _know that she was terrified of the water. _No_ one.

"**There's a small **town about five miles from here." Corinne said as she mounted her horse "Someone want to see it?"

Renee's eyebrows raised "I thought you were saddle sore. Plus, do we have time? The sun's nearly down."

"Well... I'm over the saddle soreness and it's only a few miles away." Corinne leaned forward "Are you really saying no?"

"Convince me." Viveca said with a bored expression.

"There's a small fabric shop that has the cutest Calico fabric." Corinne watched as the brunette's eyes blinked a few times "And they have homemade lace."

"Let's go!" Viveca quickly leapt onto her horse.

Renee groaned "Fine. Come on, Aramina."

"I'm ready." Aramina rode her horse up to the others "I'm the one that talked Corinne into going."

The blond shrugged "Hey. May as well, right?"

"Sure." Renee echoed.

Louis chuckled and tossed Corinne her hat "Have fun."

"Don't I always?"

He raised an eyebrow "I don't know. Trouble seems to find you more than fun does."

Corinne simply laughed and smiled down at him "Too true." a long moment of silence followed.

Renee cleared her throat "Well, if you two are done staring at each other, we can leave."

"Have fun." Louis said, then he turned and walked back towards the castle.

Corinne turned her horse around "Come on."

**The second Viveca **saw the array of fabrics she was sold... and so was the material "Oh my! Have you seen these calicoes and laces! They are so Magnifique!"

"Tell you what, while you're cruising through the fashion stuff, I'm going to go check out the town." Corinne sent her friends a small wave then walked out the door, Renee right behind her.

"I heard some music down the road," she said "Catch ya later."

Corinne watched as Renee disappeared down the road then continued her stroll.

"_Maybe we can slip in a visit to mom." _she thought.

She didn't get to see her mother too often. Between being a musketeer _and _the queen, she was kept pretty busy.

She smiled to herself. Honestly, if someone had told her five years ago that she'd fall in love and marry the _king _of France, she would have called them crazy! Then tied them up and waited for a doctor to come and check their brains for signs of damage.

She was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts as she ran headlong into a man that was standing in front of a store. "I am so sor..." her voice trailed off as the man turned to face her. Her heart leapt into her throat and it felt like her mouth turned to cotton. Every muscle in her body went tense.

The man was six foot three and _very _muscular. He had dark gray hair and a beard and mustache.

But what made Corinne's breath catch was a large scar that ran from the man's hairline down across his left eye then zigzagged across his cheek.

The man's eyebrows rose for a second then a deep scowl covered his face. Without a word, he turned on his heels and stormed away.

Corinne stood frozen in her spot. She couldn't move.

"_Who was that?" _she thought _"I know that man... but from where?"_

Just then, the other three girls showed up.

"Corinne?" Viveca asked slowly "Are you okay?"

But the blond didn't so much as blink.

"Stiff much?" Renee waved a hand in front of Corinne's face "Okay... are you alright?"

Aramina pulled out one of her fans and swapped the back of Corinne's head with it.

"Wha..." Corinne shook her head and closed her eyes, then she looked at her friends "What?"

"Care to explain why you were psyched out?" Renee asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Corinne looked around but spotted the man nowhere "I... he... um..." she shook her head again "It's nothing... I think."

"Come on." Aramina tugged on Corinne's arm a bit and looked up at the dark sky "There's a storm rolling in. I want to get back before it hits."

Corinne nodded slowly "Yeah. Let's go." she let out a long low whistle and her horse came running over.

"Race you back!" Viveca said as she leapt into her saddle.

Corinne laughed "You're on!"

The four lined up then raced back to the palace.

"Well, we may actually get a little fun while we're here." Renee commented as they put their horses away.

"Oh?" Corinne raised a curious eyebrow "Why is that?"

About that time, Serge, the stable hand, came running in "I can take care of your horse, Your Highness."

Corinne groaned "No thank you, Serge. I can take care of my own horse. And for the ten thousandth time, call me Corinne!"

The stable hand simply shrugged then walked away.

"Oi." Corinne huffed "Okay. Renee, you were saying. You said there might be a bit of an adventure on this trip?"

"I was talking to the people and they mentioned that it'll be nice to have some musketeers around because someone's been robbing them for awhile." the other girl answered "Not to mention there's been a few men injured when they tried to stop the thief."

Corinne's mind flashed back to that man in town but she shook off the thought "Sounds like fun I guess we'd better keep our ears open."

**Flint Griffin walked **into his old apartment and slammed the door behind him "I know that girl. She's that feisty little kid that belongs to that musketeer, D'artagnon." he ran his hand over scar that went down his face "And it looks like she's become a musketeer just like he was." He walked over to a chair and sat down, a slow smirk inching across his face "He probably told her where he hid that box. And I'm going to get it." he pulled his dagger out of his belt and rammed the blade of it into the wooden table "If I have to force it out of her."

**(I know things are moving kind of fast, but I'm trying to get to the _real _story! Thanks for the reviews! Laterz!)**


	4. Flint Griffin

"_Daddy?" Corinne watched as her father walked over to a window "Did you hide the treasure?"_

"_I did. I'm the only one who knows where it is." D'artagnon answered, running a hand through his hair "Honestly, I'm not too happy about it."_

"_Where did you hide it?"_

_D'artagnon looked back at his little girl, a slight smile on his face. But he didn't answer, he simply walked over to her book shelf and started rearranging the books "You should keep your books organized, Corinne. Alphabetical order is always best."_

"_But Daddy!" Corinne sighed "I barely know my alphabet. I can only get to S! I think. Maybe it was R." she shook her head "Oh well."_

_D'artagnon chuckled "You'll get there."_

"_Can I come in?" Marie asked, pushing the door open._

"_Uh-huh." Corinne nodded "Daddy's just cleaning my room."_

_Marie smiled "Alright. Corinne, get back under the blankets. I brought you some soup and water."_

"_Okee-dokey." The child settled back into her bed, propped up by her pillows "How long do I have to stay here?"_

"_Until I say you can get up."_

_A long mournful sigh came from the child "I'm getting cabin fever!" then she whispered to her dad "That's what it's called, right?"_

_D'artagnon nodded "Yes."_

_Marie shook her head and sat the tray across her lap "Well, you need to stay warm. I don't want you catching pneumonia."_

"_Okay." Corinne picked up the glass of water and was about to take a drink when she froze. Her gaze on the slightly shifting water inside. Her mind flashed back to being dropped into the dark, cold water. With a scream, she threw the cup and scooted as far up her pillow as she could go, accidentally knocking the tray with the soup off the bed as she did._

_Marie looked at her daughter's terrified face then slowly looked up at her husband. _

_D'artagnon sighed and slowly shook his head. His little girl had suffered from the fall far worse than he had thought._

**A light rain **started falling as the girls entered palace.

"Hello." Louis greeted "I was beginning to think that you were going to get caught in the storm."

Corinne laughed "Us? Caught in a storm? Never."

Louis' eyebrows raised "It wouldn't be the first time."

"Nor would it be the last." she skipped over to him, stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him, causing Aramina to go into a fit of giggles.

Corinne sighed as she lowered back to her feet "Happens every time."

Louis chuckled "Without fail."

"Well, I'm getting a snack." Renee announced, turning and heading for the kitchen.

"I'm in." Viveca said.

"Me too!" Aramina followed the other two from the room.

"Oh look." Louis said teasingly "They left."

Just then, a loud clap of thunder shook the castle.

Corinne spun around and looked out the window just as a bright flash of lightning lit up the area. The ocean outside was churning and massive waves were beating against the sand.

Louis looked at her with concern as she stood paralyzed staring out the window "Corinne?"

Her head snapped in his direction "Yeah? What?"

"Are you alright?"  
"Of course." she chuckled dryly "Why wouldn't I be." she patted his arm as she walked by "Don't worry about me so much."

Louis shook his head as she left the room "How can I not?"

"**Corinne." a dark threatening voice echoed around her "Corinne. You can't run forever."**

**She looked around frantically but saw no one.**

**The wind was blowing around her, bending large trees like they were a piece of grass. Lightning flashed from all directions. Somewhere in the near distance the sound of waves crashing against rocks could be heard.**

"**You can't run forever!" The voice repeated. An oh-so familiar voice. **

**Just then the person appeared. Tall, muscular, evil piercing eyes and... a scar.**

"**I know you." Corinne said taking a step back "But how?"**

"**Oh you know." The man walked towards her "Years ago. At your daddy's house. Remember the river? And the waterfall."**

**Corinne's eyes widened "That's who you are." she breathed, taking another step back "What do you want?"**

"**Revenge. Revenge on your father. Revenge on you. Revenge on France."**

**Corinne's heart was pounding so hard, breathing was difficult. Her whole body was locking up so she couldn't move except for taking very small steps back.**

"**That's right." the man growled "Just a little further." he pulled out a sword and pointing it at her "Just keep walking."**

**She took another step back and felt the ground beneath her heels give away. She slowly looked over her shoulder. She was standing in the exact spot she had been sixteen years ago "Please." she whispered, her voice shaking.**

"**Just remember this, girl." The man said "You only lose once. After that, it's over!"**

"**Who are you?" she managed to ask.**

"**The last person you will ever see." He took another step towards her "Flint Griffin!" The he pushed her back.**

"No!" Corinne gasped as she sat straight up. She put her hand down beside her to steady herself, but it caught the edge of the bed and sent her tumbling to the floor, taking all the blankets with her.

"Corinne?" Louis asked slowly "Are you alright?" He reached out and touched her shoulder but was completely startled when she yelped and pulled away. He jumped off the bed and ran around to where she was "Corinne?"

She stared at him, her eyebrows furrowed.

When he reached his hand out to her, she scooted away, her scowl deepening. Then a few moments later her face suddenly registered recognition and she sighed with relief "Louis."

"Are you okay?" He asked slowly.

"Yeah." Corinne nodded "I'm... fine."

"What happened?"

"It was just a nightmare." She pushed her hair out of her face "That's all. Just a nightmare."

"I've never known you to have a nightmare like that." Louis was still looking at her with concern, and for some reason that made her smile.

"It happens every now and then." She held her hand out to him "Help me up."

He quickly obeyed and pulled her to her feet "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. I'm still in once piece." She touched the back of her head where it had hit the floor "Oi."

Louis was still watching her closely "Are you su..."

"Louis!" she interrupted with a laughed "I am perfectly fine." she reached up and touched his cheek "I promise."

He still seemed unsure "Okay."

"You don't believe me." she stated.

"Weeeeeeeell..."

"Fine, don't believe me." She shook her head "But you had better believe me when I say I am starving! I'm going to the kitchen for a snack. Wish to join?"

"Sure." Louis shrugged "I'm a bit hungry myself."

"Good." Then she hurried from the room.

Louis shook his head as he threw the blankets back to where they belonged "She's too good at changing the subject."

Corinne basically ran towards the kitchen, her mind was racing _"That was Flint Griffin in town this morning." _she thought _"And by the look on his face I think he knows who I am." _she felt an involuntary shiver go down her spine _"I am doomed! That man does the same thing to me that water does!" _She shook her head and picked up her speed "Then my friends will know everything."

**The next morning, **Louis managed to catch the girls before Corinne met up with them.

"Good morning, Your Highness." Aramina greeted "How was your first night in a sorta new castle?"

"Not very good, actually." Louis glanced around to make sure Corinne wasn't near "Did something happen yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" Renee asked.

"What I mean is, Corinne was completely spooked last night!" Louis answered "She had a nightmare that made her hit the floor. Not to mention it took her five minutes just to recognize who _I _was!"

"Honestly, we don't know what happened." Viveca said "We all went about doing out own little shopping, you know. When we caught up with Corinne later she was standing paralyzed in the middle of the sidewalk. She didn't say what had happened and there was no one nearby."

"Strange."

Aramina nodded in agreement "Tell me about it. Normally she tells us everything then makes us promise not to tell you... Oops!"

Louis chuckled and waved her off "Don't worry. I know." then he became serious again "Are you sure you have no idea what happened?"

"Positive." The three girls answered in unison.

Louis nodded "Okay. If you find out, let me know."

"We will." Viveca said "And please, do the same."

"Hello." Corinne greeted as she entered the room, still in the process of twisting up her hair into it's normal bun "What's up?"

"Not much." Renee answered "You?"

The blond simply shrugged as she pushed in the last bobby pin "Hey, Louis. I was wondering..."

Louis raised an eyebrow curiously "What?"

"Would you mind if we dropped in to see mom? I... want to check on her."

He couldn't help but note the slight worry in her voice "Sure. Why not?" he smiled brightly "I haven't really had a chance to talk to her."

"Thanks." Corinne glanced out the window. The only thing in sight was the ocean, so she looked away "Today? It's not too far from here."

"Sure. We can leave right now." Louis turned to leave the room "I'll inform Treville of our plans."

"And tell him that we do _not _need escorts!" Corinne added quickly "And I am serious!"

"I think we all are." Renee laughed "Can you imagine musketeers being escorted by musketeers?"

"I think Treville's just trying to let the men keep some of their pride." Aramina said "I mean, they've lost a lot of it since us girls joined the force."

"And keep showing them up." Viveca said, bouncing her curls "Not to mention we look great every time we do it!"

The four girls laughed and went to get ready for the trip to the D'artagnon home.

They left the summer palace thirty minutes later, with Treville shaking his head after them.

"How much convincing did it take for him to stay behind?" Corinne asked,

Louis chuckled "Well, he's not allowed to argue with the Kiug, so not much. But I _did _hear him muttering something about the most stubborn, hard headed girl he'd ever met in his life that throws caution to the wind and doesn't think before she acts." he glanced at her from the corner of his eye "I wonder who he could have been talking about."

Corinne shrugged innocently "I have no idea." then she shook her head "I do not throw caution to the wind! And I _do _think before I act!"

Her three friends looked at her, then each other, then turned their attention back to the path ahead.

Corinne stared at them "What? You don't think I'm impulsive do you?"

"Only when provoked." Renee answered.

"And you _do _have a slight habit of not choosing the safe route." Aramina added.

"And you don't _always _think before you run in." Viveca said "Especially when someone's in trouble."

"Oh come on!" Corinne crossed her arms in mock disapproval "It sounds to me like you're saying the 'Big Boys' are right!"

"And that would just be tragic!" Renee gasped, then the four burst out into laughter.

Louis shook his head and smiled. There was never a dull moment when you were around those four.

Best friends. A team. They always had each others' backs. They lived by the motto that Corinne's father had created 'All for one, and one for all' which is probably why they were the most successful musketeers in France.

"By the way." Renee whispered, leaning closer to Corinne "We _can _see the lighthouse from the castle."

Corinne's head snapped in her direction and she instantly felt heat leap into her face "S-so?" she asked, trying to pretend she had no clue what her friend was talking about.

"Let's see..." Renee glanced back at Louis mischievously before returning her attention to the blond "I believe Aramina put it like this. Aw! That is so sweet!"

Corinne rolled her eyes and let out a huff of air "You're never going to let this drop, are you?"

"What? The fact that our stubborn Corinne who flat-out said so many times that there was absolutely _nothing _going on between her and the King ended up marrying him?" Renee glanced at the sky for a second then grinned "Nope."

"You just wait."  
About an hour later, they rode into Marie's yard.

"Mom!" Corinne called "It me!"

Two seconds later, Marie D'artagnon rushed from the house "Corinne!" then she ran down the porch steps and hurried towards the group.

Corinne quickly slid out of her saddle and ran to meet her mother.

"It's been too too long!" Marie sighed as she pulled her daughter into a tight hug.

"Believe me, I know." After a long moment the mother and daughter finally released each other "I brought my friends along. Hope you don't mind."

"Of course not!" Marie looked at each of the girls then Louis "Ah. I see you also brought the young man you've told me so much about."

Corinne groaned and shook her head "Please, Mom. Not you too!"

"Its my job, Honey." Marie laughed "Come on in, Everyone!"

The others dismounted and ground hitched their horses, then they all went into the small cabin.

"How is everything?" Corinne asked as she settled into one of the chairs in the living room.

"Just fine." her mother answered, one of her eyebrows slightly raising "Everything is calm and dandy. In fact, I've got a stable hand now. You should meet him. He's in the barn."

"Alright." Corinne stood from her seat and nodded towards her friends "We need to take care of our horses anyways." then the four walked out the door.

"So... Your Highness..." Marie shook her head "Louis. How are things in Paris?"

"Fine... I think." The young king answered "We're at the castle on the beach right now and were close enough to visit."

"I see. Are you taking care of my girl?"

Louis stood up from where he had been sitting and walked over to one of the small windows "Trying." he chuckled slightly "It's not easy."

"Oh, I know." Marie said as she joined him "Being married to a musketeer is tough, and I know. But getting a musketeer _and _Corinne is quite a package."

Louis laughed "Tell me about it. She's so spontaneous." he grinned "But, I guess that's one of the things I love about her."

Marie nodded slightly and fell silent for a long moment. Then she asked "Why did you come out here today? What has Corinne worried?"

"Honestly, I was hoping you could answer that." Louis sighed and shook his head "I have no idea. Yesterday she kept... I don't know. She was really jumpy. And according to her friends she completely froze in town yesterday."

"Froze?"

"Paralyzed. And last night she seemed really... spooked."

"That's.. strange." Marie's eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the distant mountains.

A moment later the four girls reentered the cabin, the stable hand, Jack, right behind them.

Jack was a little over six feet tall with golden blond hair and chocolate brown eyes. And, to say the least, Aramina was smitten.

"I see you met the girls." Marie said, grinning broadly.

"Yes Ma'am." Jack said with a country drawl "I did. You're daughter beat me to the hay bales."

Corinne looked down at her feet "Sorry about that."

"Not a problem." Jack said with a smile "Just don''t tell anyone that you can throw them further than I can."

"It's a deal."

A long dreamy sigh came from Aramina, but Jack didn't seem to notice.

"I think she's _honestly _smitten." Viveca whispered "And I mean _honestly._"

"I have to agree." Corinne nodded.

All of the sudden, a large stone smashed through one of the little window.

Glass shattered and flew in all directions as everyone in the room ducked.

"Corinne D'artagnon!" A loud, menacing voice shouted "Come out! I've got something to say to you. And I think you know what it is."

Corinne's heart dropped straight into her toes and her breath caught in her throat. All color drained from her face as she remained rooted in her spot.

"Corinne?" Marie whispered "Who is that?"

She very slowly looked up at her mother. After a long moment she was finally able to answer "Flint Griffin."

**(MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODIEZ! Okay, I know it's a little late for that but I forgot when I posted the last chapter. Anyhoo... and this is where the story _really _begins! Laterz!)**


	5. Secrets

"_Corinne, Honey?" Marie said confused "What's wrong?"_

_The child stared at the place where the cup and tray of food had landed. Her breath was coming in short gasps and her face was white as a ghost._

"_W...water." she mumbled "N-no... water!" She continued to scoot away till her hand reached the end of the bed "Whoa!" she squealed as she tumbled to the floor._

_D'artagnon sighed and shook his head "Oh... dear."_

"_I'm good." Corinne raised her thumb in the air and sent her parents an impish grin "Hehe. Wonder what happened."_

_Marie stared at her daughter for a second then spun around and grabbed her husband's arm "D'artagnon, come with me. Right now!"_

"_Do I have a choice?" D'artagnon gasped as he was pulled from the room._

_Corinne watched as her bedroom door was slammed shut "Sure glad I'm not the one that has to explain."_

_As soon as they had reached the living room, Marie pushed her husband into the wall "You tell me what happened out there and you tell me now, Mister!"_

_D'artagnon glanced as her fists that were curled tightly around his shirt from then looked back to her face "There... was an accident."_

"_What kind of accident?" Marie hissed._

_D'artagnon gently eased his wife's fists from his shirt front "That man that was here... he..." he looked away from her "He dropped her... into the river."_

"_What!?" Marie's hands flew over her mouth._

"_And... she went over the waterfall."_

"_D'artagnon! That's got to be a two hundred foot drop!"_

"_Actually, it's just one seventy-five."_

_She glared at him "Why didn't you tell me?"_

_He couldn't look at her anymore. Let's just say that the glare Corinne had, she'd inherited it from her mother. He looked out a window that was across the room "She told me not to."_

"_And you obeyed?" Marie shook her head "She's five, D'artagnon! Five! And I'm the mother! You don't keep secrets from me and you don't obey what a **child** tells you to do!" she gritted her teeth "If you're taking orders from her now I am not looking forward to when she becomes a teenager. She's already stubborn enough."_

_D'artagnon put on his best smile "Hey, at least we don't have to worry about boys."_

_With a snort of disgust Marie stormed away from him "Don't you dare ever keep something about my baby away from me again. You hear?"_

"_Yes, Marie." D'artagnon nodded._

_Corinne poked her head out of her door "Sorry, Poppy."_

"**Flint Griffin.****" ****Corinne **whispered.

"Who?" Aramina, Viveca and Renee echoed.

"Again?" Marie breathed "I thought he was..."

"So did I." Corinne shook her head slightly, willing her muscles to allow her to stand.

"I know you're in there!" The man outside shouted "Come out or I'll come in!"

Corinne swallowed the lump that was in her throat and slowly raised to her feet.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Louis whispered.

"I _have _to." Corinne said her face set in determination then she sighed "Or he'll never leave."

"We're right behind you." Renee said as she and the other two stood up.

Corinne smiled slightly then turned to face the door _"Just go out." _she thought _"This is nothing you can't handle. He's not the man that..." _She shook her head then grabbed the door knob and walked out.

As soon as Flint Griffin saw her, a smirk crossed his face "I thought that was you. You don't change much in... what's it been? Fourteen, fifteen years?"

"Sixteen." Corinne responded "What do you want, Griffin?"

"Ah. And you know my name." He chuckled, a deep evil sound "Your memory serves you well. So tell me, where did your father hide that box?"

"I don't know." She answered. She could feel her heart starting to pick up it's pace. She wanted to run. She wanted to hide. She wanted to do anything but stand here facing the man that had once sent her cascading down a waterfall on a pitch black, stormy night. The man that had haunted her dreams for years after that event. The only man her _father _had feared.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" the man scoffed "You're a musketeer, aren't you? You can't tell me that D'artagnon didn't tell his little girl where he hid it!"

"He didn't tell anyone!" Corinne snapped "He was ordered to take the box and hide it... from everyone. And that's what he did. There's not a living soul that knows where he put it. None of the musketeers and none of his family."

"I'm confused." Aramina whispered to Viveca and Renee "What are they talking about?"

"If I knew I would tell you." Renee responded.

"Really?" Griffin shook his head as a deep glare settled on his face "I don't believe you. I'll make a deal with you, Corinne. You bring me that box and no one gets hurt. You keep the box and _everyone _around here will pay. Including your mother."

Corinne's face lost all color and she took a step back, she shook her head and regathered the little bit of courage she had left "Forget it, Griffin. I already told you, I don't know where my father hid it. And there's no way to find it."

"Think about it." Griffin turned and mounted his black horse "Even if you _don't _know where it is, find it. Or else." then he kicked his horse in the sides and rode away.

"Who... was that?" Louis asked slowly.

"No one." Corinne answered.

"That's apparent." Louis walked over to her "What box is he talking about?"

She looked up at him "It's nothing."

"Corinne. What is he after and how do you know him?"

"Louis!" Corinne shouted, her eyes flashing "It's nothing! Just forget it, okay!"

He took a step back in shock then very slowly nodded "Okay." he said quietly, then he turned and went back into the cabin.

Corinne stared after him then sighed "I'll be right back." she said to the others then she ran after her husband.

"We'll give them four minutes." Renee said with a smirk "That's normally the best time to open the door."

"**Hi." Corinne said **tentatively as she stepped in the door.

Louis was leaning against the fireplace, staring at the dancing flames.

She slowly went to stand behind him "Louis. I'm sorry."

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye but immediately returned his attention to the fire and said nothing.

"Why are you giving me the silent treatment?" still he said nothing "I said sorry." she sighed as he continued to remain quiet "Louis. I didn't mean to get mad. It's just... Flint Griffin is a _extremely _dangerous man. I... don't want you getting involved with him." she shook her head slowly then whispered "He'll kill you."

Louis finally looked at her. After a long moment he spoke "What about you? You seem to be the one he's threatening. What box is he talking about?"

"I'm not sure." Corinne answered "Just... my father hid a box a long time ago that Griffin had been after. I don't know what was in it."

"So, where have you seen Flint Griffin before?"

Corinne groaned and pushed a strand of hair from her face "He showed up here when I was five. Then I ran into him in town yesterday."

Realization suddenly dawned on his face "Is that why you were so spooked last night?"

"A little jumpy." She corrected "And, yeah."

"What kind of a run in did you have with him?"

"Just a literal run-in. I accidentally bumped into him. That's all."

Louis stared at her for a several seconds "Are you sure you want to deal with him?"

She shrugged "I don't exactly have a choice, Louis. He threatened my mother."

He nodded slowly "Just be careful, okay? I don't want France to lose their queen."

She smiled "You know me."

"That's exactly why I said be careful." he leaned his forehead against hers "_I_ don't want to lose you either."

Just then, the soft creak of the front door caught their attention. The watched as five heads poked in.

"Whoops." Renee said "Should have waited thirty more seconds."

Jack chuckled "And I was looking forward to seeing somethin'."

Corinne fought the heat that was creeping into her face, but as usual, it won "Oh please." she retorted as she walked towards them "We'd better go." then she faced her mom "Would... you come back to the palace? Please?"

Marie stared at her daughter for along moment but finally nodded "Alright. Jack, would you run to the Josephs' and ask if a couple of their sons can come help with the farm?"

"Yes Ma'am. I will." Jack tipped his hat at them then went and mounted his horse and rode away.

Corinne sighed and shook her head "Flint Griffin. He's the last man I wanted to see again."

Marie placed a hand on her shoulder "Don't worry. You'll be fine."

Louis wanted the small exchange confused then walked over to the other three musketeers "Why do I get the feeling she's _not _telling us something?"

"I don't know." Viveca responded "Besides the fact that she's got a _slight _habit of doing that."

Renee shook her head "I just hope her secret doesn't end up killing her."

Louis felt his heart clench. If anything happened to Corinne...

"**Well," Marie said **as she stepped into the palace "This is a place I never thought I'd be."

Corinne laughed "I know." she looked around "Where's Treville? Oh well."

"Who's hungry?" Aramina asked "I am! Let's go to the kitchen!"

"Go ahead." Corinne said "I... need to check on something." then she jogged off.

Louis watched her leave then looked over at Marie.

"Don't look at me." Corinne's mother laughed "She's just as secretive as her father."

Louis nodded slightly then waited for the three girls to leave the room "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." Marie responded.

"What happened when Griffin showed up when she was five?"

Marie stared at him then rubbed her forehead "I... think I'll let Corinne decide when to say. There's a reason she hasn't said anything,"

Louis let out a huff of air "She scares me."

"You're not the only one." Marie patted his shoulder "Just hang in there." then she left the room.

"Ye-ah." Louis shook his head then went the direction Corinne had gone. He found her standing in his office reading a piece of paper "Oh. Are you going to take care of the paperwork?" he teased.

Corinne looked up at him and smiled "Not on your life." then she stuffed the paper and envelope in her pocket "Louis. Did your parents ever mention anything about... secrets, to you?"

"Besides the fact that they never kept secrets from each other?" he answered "No."

"You're not making a point." She shook her head "Louis, you're just going to have to trust me."

"I do trust you, Corinne. You just have a habit of getting me worried." he stepped further in the room "Especially when you won't tell me anything."

"It's better if I don't." Corinne leaned back against the desk "Have you ever heard the expression, Curiosity Killed the Cat?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Curiosity could Kill the King." she quickly walked over to him and kissed his cheek "And I won't let that happen." then she walked from the room.

Louis groaned "How does she do that?"

Just then, Viveca's voice echoed through the hall "Corinne! Come here! Quick!"

Corinne sped towards the parlor "What?"

"Come around back!" Viveca grabbed the blond's hand and pulled her out the door "It's Treville!"

As soon as they reached the back of the castle. Corinne spotted the Captain laying on the ground. A huge lump on his forehead showed he'd been hit. With what, she wasn't sure.

"What happened?" Corinne asked as she dropped to his knees beside him "Captain?"

Treville groaned then whispered "Grif...in."

"What?"

"Griffin." Treville repeated weakly "Flint Griffin. He's back."

"I know." Corinne said quietly "Why was he here?"

"Looking for you." Treville grabbed her shoulder "He wants those Secrets, Corinne. And he thinks you have them!"

Corinne sat back on her heels and slowly let out a long breath of air "I know. But I don't!" her head was spinning so she sat down in the sand "What do I do, Treville? Please, tell me what to do!"

He was losing consciousness but he managed to whisper "Run. Hide before he destroys you... like he did your father."


	6. THat's it!

Flint Griffin walked into the local Inn and sat down at a table in the dining room.

A few people glanced at him, but none dared to bother him.

"What would you like, Sir?" a waiter asked nervously, setting down a glass of water.

"Information." Griffin answered "I saw a few musketeers in town the other day. What do you know about them?"

"Well..." the waiter instantly began to tell everything her knew, starting with Renee, much to Griffin's chagrin "And finally, Corinne."

"_It's about time." _Griffin thought.

"Um... well. Most people around here know her from when she was a child." the waiter chuckled nervously "No one could believe it when they discovered she had married the king."

Griffin's eyebrows lurched "Corinne D'artagnon married the king?"

"Yes sir."

The man chuckled "Thank you. Leave."

"Yes sir!" the waiter scurried away, breathing a sigh of relief as he went.

Griffin chuckled as he leaned forward on the table "This just keeps getting better. At first, a little revenge was enough. But now..." he shook his head, an evil grin stuck on his face "All of France is literally in her hands. And the king... well, he'll do nicely."

**Corinne was pacing **back and forth across the room.

As soon as Treville had finished his last sentence he had lost consciousness and was now resting in one of the palace rooms.

He had been out for about an hour and Corinne was about to lose her mind!

What had he meant when he said he had destroyed her father?

"Corinne, sit down!" Renee groaned "You're driving me insane!"

"Making me dizzy." Aramina added.

Viveca shrugged "I'm too curious to notice."

Louis just watched as she walked back and forth. Back and forth. Back and... Ob boy. Aramina was right. That was dizzying.

Finally, Corinne let out an exhasperated groan, walked over to the bed and grabbed the captain's shoulders "Would you wake up already!"

"Wha-!?" the captain started, looking around confused.

Louis stared at the bewildered face of the captain for a moment, then an unexpected laugh erupted from his throat.

Corinne looked back at him curiously "What?"

"Nothing." He said around constant chuckles.

Then Aramina started giggling, followed by Viveca, then Renee.

Corinne stared at them for a long time before she finally smiled and chuckled "Okay. I got it." she released the captain's shoulders "Sorry to startle you from your faint."

the Captain shook his head "I suppose it _has _to be alright."

Corinne smiled then sat down on the edge of the bed "What were you talking about? I mean, before. About Griffin destroying my father?"

Treville looked over at the others then turned his attention back to the blond "I think perhaps, Corinne, you and I had better take a walk."

"**I know you **remember that event that took place sixteen years ago." Treville said as he and Corinne walked around the palace "I can see it on your face every time you look at the ocean."

Corinne sighed and shook her head "Is it really that obvious?"

"No. I just know you." Treville looked up at the sky "After that event, your father was never quite the same. He was still an excellent fighter and everything... except when it came to fighting Flint Griffin." he shook his head and looked at the girl "I never saw your father freeze in a battle before. I ended up having to save his life on a number of accounts."

"My father froze when he was fighting Griffin?" Corinne asked incredulously "Why?"

"He told me that every time he faced Griffin all he could see was his little girl plunging to her death. He never was able to shake it. Until finally..."

"Dad died." Corinne shook her head "So, Griffin robbed my father of his confidence."

"Yes." Treville nodded slowly "And... Flint Griffin was the man the ultimately finished your father."

Corinne's teeth gritted "No one ever said how he died. It was always assumed it was just in line of duty."

"It was." Treville answered "He was protecting the secrets of France."

"Which are?"

"I don't know. Only your father did."  
"Oh..." she stared into the distance for several minutes "You... know that Griffin came back after that night, right?"

Treville's eyes widened "What!?"

"He came back about a month later." she continued to stare off into space "Dad wasn't there. It was just me and mom. Then he came back again after Dad died. He always thought I knew. He thought mom knew." she looked over at the captain "How do we find it?"

Treville smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder "You're his daughter. Just think. Surely your father told you something." with that, he turned and walked away.

Corinne stayed where she was. Had her father ever said anything? Had he ever hinted to where he had hidden it?

After several minutes she groaned "All he ever did was tell me how to keep my room clean!" just then, the sound of high tempo violin music reached her ears "That's not Renee." she mused "That's not her style. And I _know _that's not Louis."

"Corinne!" Viveca called as she and the other two spotted her "Are you alright?"

"Yeah... I guess." The blond shrugged "Who's playing the violin."

"No clue." Renee answered "We wanted to find you before we let our curiosity get the best of us. Now please, Come on!"

"Race you back!" Viveca challenged as she and the other two spun around and took off laughing.

"We've got a head start!" Aramina squealed.

Corinne laughed then shot off after them. Even with the several yard head start, it wasn't long before Corinne outdistanced the other three and burst through the palace doors.

"I am telling you!" Renee said around huffs of air "She races her horse while we're sleeping!"

Corinne leaned against the wall "Nope." she laughed as she gripped her side "I just... normally have to run up the... seven flights of stairs to the terrace... to catch Louis in the balloon." she let out a big breath of air "Whoo! That was exhilarating."

Viveca straightened up "You ready to go check out that music?"

"Hold on a second." Corinne held up a finger and shook her head "Wow. I haven't been this winded in... awhile." she laughed then straightened up "Okay. Let's go."

The four made their way to the throne room, which was where the music was coming from.

As soon as Corinne pushed open the doors, they spotted a tall, dark young man standing in the room, his bow moving quickly across the strings.

"Not bad." Renee mumbled.

Corinne couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. Ooooh!

"Hey girls." Louis waved at them "Hey, Renee. Your violin's right there. How about you join?"

The tall guy smiled when he saw her "So you are Renee? I'm Tyrone. The king has told me a lot about you. Please, I'd be honored for you to join me."

"Sure." Renee walked over and picked up her violin.

"She's blushing!" Aramina whispered.

Corinne frowned "She is?"

"Yes!"

"If you say so."

"I do."

"Go ahead." Renee said, raising her violin into position.

"As you wish." Tyron nodded then started playing an upbeat song, which Renee quickly joined on.

"He's too romantic for her." Viveca whispered.

"Nope. He's perfect." Aramina responded.

"If you say so." then Viveca walked over to a piano that was in the room and started playing along.

Louis quickly walked over to where his wife was standing and grabbed her hand "May I?"

"Louis." She said with a shake of her head "You know I don't dance."

"Yeah. But this is the fun kind." With that, he pulled her into the room and quickly spun her around.

Aramina giggled "Soooo cute."

"May I?" Jack, who no one had noticed was even there, asked.

Aramina glanced at him "No thank you." then walked away.

The ranch hand stared at her dumbstruck for a second, then went and leaned against the wall.

"Tell me you're not having fun." Louis said as he spun Corinne into his arms then out again.

She laughed "Okay. I'm having fun."

"I knew it." He lifted her up off the ground and spun her around.

Corinne couldn't help but smile. How he knew what she wanted, even before she knew, she didn't know. But one thing she _did _know. Life wouldn't be complete without him.

Louis spun her into his arms one last time just as the music ended.

"And they stare into each others eyes like lovesick fillies." Renee said under her breath.

Tyrone chuckled "I think it's kind of endearing."

Louis smiled down at Corinne and whispered "You know I love you, right?"

She grinned "I think I've been picking up some hints."

Just then, all the widows in the room shattered.

Corinne instinctively grabbed Louis' arm and dropped to the floor as fiery arrows soared over their heads.

"Secrets can kill, Your Majesty!" Griffin's voice shouted "And I'd hand over the ones your father hid before your King pays for it!"

Corinne gritted her teeth "That's it!" she jumped to her feet and ran out the door.

Renee looked over at the other two "We'd better go if we want to catch up."

"Definitely." The other two echoed.

"This time, I'm coming." Louis said.

The three glanced at each other "Fine." then they ran out the door.

**Corinne ran towards **the stables and grabbed her horse then headed forthe wood that were several yards behind the palace. The tracks left by Griffin and, apparently, his men were easy to follow.

"That is the last straw." she said as she ran "He killed my father. Threatened my mother and now Louis." she urged her horse to a quicker pace "He is _not _going to get away with this."

About thirty minutes later, the trees thinned out and she pulled her horse to a stop at the ledge of a cliff "Why do they always go to cliffs?"

"Ah. I see you can follow hoof prints." Griffin said from his place against a tree.

Corinne dismounted from her horse's back "In case you were wondering, yes I know you left them on purpose so that I would follow them."

"You are smart." Griffin clapped his hands a few times "Almost. You ran off and left your friends."

"This isn't between my friends!" She snapped "This is between you and me! You won't get away with what you did to my father!"

"Oh?" he nonchalantly pulled his glove more onto his hand, then in the blink of an eye, he unsheathed his sword "Won't I?" then he charged at her. He wasn't totally prepared for her to be so experience. The fact that she was angry helped... a lot.

"Tell me, Griffin." Corinne fumed "How many lives have you destroyed? I doubt my father's was the only one."

"Oh no." The man sneered "I've caused people to go bankrupt. And enjoyed every minute of it."

About that time, Louis and the three girls burst into the clearing, and not a second later were grabbed from behind by several men.

"No." Louis groaned as he watched Corinne "He's going to win."

"What!?" Renee exclaimed "Well that's a nice vote of confidence."

"It's not that." Louis shook his head "He knows how to make her freeze. If he does..." he left the rest unsaid.

All they could do was watch.

A smile twitched on Griffin's lips then in one movement, their swords locked "Don't forget what happened last time we were near a cliff, Girl. Remember the river?"

She felt her breath catch in her throat, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep herself from tensing up.

With a laugh, Griffin shoved her backwards... over the cliff.

Her hand flew up and grasped the edge.

"Does this feel familiar, Corinne?" He taunted, slowly walking forward "I think it does." he shook his head "You're just like your father." The man sneered, the toe of his boots touching the tips of her fingers "Loyal to a fault."

Corinne stared at the water below. Her heart was pounding and it was all she could do to breathe. Her face was deathly pale as she hung there.

"I've never seen her like this." Renee whispered "How is she suddenly afraid of heights?"

"It's not the height." Louis answered, his eyes never leaving his wife "It's the water."

"Well, a noble death for a noble musketeer." the man laughed "Just like your father." then without another word, he pushed her fingers off the ledge.

"No!" Louis and the girls shouted. But all they could do was watch helplessly.

The second Corinne fell into the water, she felt every muscle in her body lock up. The water seemed to pull her down and she was powerless to fight it.

She was in a watery grave with no air to breathe and no strength to try.

**(Thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews everybodiez!)**


	7. Rescued

"_**Daddy." Corinne said **"Can you tell me a story?"_

_D'artagnon smiled slightly "How about a riddle?"_

"_A riddle is good." Corinne nodded "Make it good!"_

"_Okay." D'artagnon thought for a moment: _

"_Along the sand, where the sun shines_

_stands a place that reaches the sky_

_Within it's walls with stories old_

_hides a tale that's never been told"_

_The girl straightened up, completely intrigued by the riddle._

_For instance, the book as white as snow_

_Leads to a place that you will know_

_Within the books that a child once read _

_Maps of secrets of the living and dead._

_Corinne stared at her father dumbstruck"I don't get it."_

"_You will." D'artagnon kissed her forehead "I must go now."_

**D****rops of cold **water fell on her face and she groaned.

Wait. How was water falling on her face when she was _in _the water. Then she felt something, like a hand, go across her forehead and down her cheek.

When another drop of water hit her head, she tried to force her eyes open. At first everything was blurry, but after a few seconds, she finally managed to focus on a pair of brown eyes, filled with worry,

"Louis?" she whispered, squinting against the light. Then she saw that his hair was dripping wet. As was the rest of him "Why are you wet?"

A sound of disbelief came from his throat and he shook his head "You just about drowned and you're wondering why I'm soaked?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. Where had _that _tone come from?

"Oh! We're so glad you're okay!" Aramina gasped "We... we kept expecting you to come up."

"Griffin finally left about three minutes after you fell. Said that we were too later." Viveca said.

"Louis dove right over the edge." Renee added "You scared us half to death!"

Corinne slowly sat up and looked at the young king. Completely soaked from head to toe.

"What is going on?" Renee demanded "Why didn't you just tell us you were afraid of water?"

"Because it's humiliating!" Corinne blurted before she could stop herself "I'm a musketeer and I can't even... face water." she shook her head as she stood up "I didn't think I'd ever had to say anything."

"Corinne, everyone is afraid of something." Aramina gently "There's no crime in it."

"But you said it yourself." the blond retorted "No one in their right mind is afraid of water."

"Corinne." Viveca said with a shake of her head "_Why _are you afraid of water?"

She stared at them for a long moment then finally told them everything.

Their eyes widened as she talked. None of them knowing what to say.

"And... I've never been able to shake it." She concluded "I just... freeze."

"Why didn't you ever say?" Aramina sighed "We're your friends. We understand completely."

Corinne let out a large breath of air. She had no idea it would feel this good to just let it out "Thanks."

The four girls quickly stepped into a group hug.

"Don't forget." Viveca said "We're best friends. We're always there for you."

"I know." Corinne smiled, then she spotted Louis.

He was just standing there, a strange look on his face. He was terrified, and she knew it.

"Louis." she said quietly, but he simply turned and started to walk away.

The other three looked at each other confused as Corinne watched him walk away.

It was a habit of his. When something went wrong and he got scared, he tried to walk away from the problem. In this case... her.

She glanced at her friends. She didn't care if they teased her about this for the rest of her life. She had to fix this.

"Louis!" she called as she ran after him.

He stopped and looked back at her. His face unreadable to most.

She stopped directly in front of him, her hand reaching up to gently touch the side of his face "I'm okay." she whispered "I promise."

He stared at her for a long moment. Ever so slowly, his hand covered hers that was on his cheek. His eyes continued to scan her face as if to see if she was telling the truth.

His right hand reached out and he gently ran it from her ear to her chin. Then without waiting a second longer, he leaned forward and kissed her, his hand still over hers.

He didn't ever want to let her go, but all too soon he had to "Let's get back home."

Corinne looked around. Flint Griffin was probably miles away by now. She sighed and nodded "Okay."

"**What happened?" Marie **gasped as the group stepped that?n the door "Corinne and Louis why are you soaked?"

"I... slipped." Corinne answered, putting on her best smile "You know me."

"Mm-hm. And you haven't slipped a day in your life." Marie crossed her arms and stared skeptically at them.

Corinne was about to respond when she noticed a skein of yarn tucked under her mother's arm with a pair of knitting needles and a small... "Mom!" she grabbed Marie's elbow and dragged her into the nearest room.

Louis frowned "More secrets?"

Renee snorted "Don't you know the definition of Corinne D'artagnon? Secret Maiden,"

Aramina cocked her head "Really?"

"No." Viveca answered "Corinne _does _mean Maiden, but not secret."

"**Mom! What is **_that_!?" Corinne asked, pointing to thing under her arm.

Marie smiled and held it up "Isn't it cute?"

"Mom!" Corinne quickly pushed it back down "How...? Oh never mind." she glanced at the door "Whatever you do, do _not _let Louis see that. Or Aramina." she turned to walk away but back tracked "Wait. How did you know anyways?"

"I thought that was the 'never mind' question." Marie grinned triumphantly "I raised you. That's all I'm saying."

"Ye-ah." Then Corinne left the room.

Marie chuckled and sat down in a chair to resume her knitting.

**Louis was on **his way upstairs when Jack came running up to him, Tyrone following,

"Your Majesty!" Jack called.

Louis chuckled "Call me, Louis. Please."

"Yes, Sire." Jack nodded "Sorry. I've never met royalty before."

"It's a common reaction."

Tyrone shrugged "I've played in castle courts before. But yes, I generally calle them by a formality."

:Louis smiled "What did you need, Jack?"

"Well... it's kind of complicated." the stable hand said "It's... um..."

"I'm going to take a guess. Aramina?"

"Yes! You see... I thought she liked me and now..." Jack scratched the back of his head "She's avoiding me. I've never known a girl to do that."

"Let me give you a tip, Jack." Louis said, placing a hand on the young man's shoulder "Girls from Paris are a lot more difficult than the girls you're used too. The city girls, they've got a thousand ways of saying no, and only a few of them mean yes." he thought a second "Now, the _musketeer_ girls, they've got about three thousand ways of saying no, and only _one _of them means yes."

Jack nodded as if he understood "Which one means yes?"

"Whichever they decide to make it." Louis gave the boy a pat on the shoulder then continued up the stairs.

"**You know, I'm **glad you told us the truth." Aramina said "Now we're not so worried."

"We're not?" Viveca and Renee echoed.

Corinne chuckled "You won't believe how good it feels to have told you." she sighed "If only Louis hadn't found out."

"Well, I think he guessed." Renee stated "Now, we've got to find a way to keep you safe."

"What!?" Corinne exclaimed, then she shook her head "No. I'm going to finish Flint Griffin. And I'm going to find that box."

**(Okay, I hope this story isn't getting boring. I'm getting a smidge stuck. Just a smidge. But, the journey for the box will begin soon, as well as fight with Fling Griffin! *Evil laugh*. Okay, so... Laterz!)**


	8. Following the clues

"_D'artagnon, are you sure about this?" Treville asked._

"_I don't have a choice." D'artagnon answered "Griffin's got every criminal in the country looking for me."_

"_What about your family?" _

"_That's why I'm doing this. To keep them safe." D'artagnon took off his musketeer hat and handed it to his captain "It's been a pleasure knowing you, my friend." he shook his head sadly "I wish I could say I would see you again, but..." he sighed "When it's over, just tell my family that it was in line of duty, not that Flint Griffin did it. Corinne would never recover."_

"_D'artagnon, I know what you're trying to do but..."_

"_It's the only way." the musketeer placed a hand on the captain's shoulder "When she comes to be a musketeer, keep an eye on her."_

"_Girls can't..."_

"_Don't say it, Treville. Corinne's going to be a musketeer. Just give her a chance." _

"_You know, I'd feel a little better if you'd tell me where you his the secrets." Treville said under his breath "Only one person knowing isn't always wise."_

"_Corinne knows." D'artagnon said plainly._

"_What!?" Treville shook his head defiantly "You told a five year old!?"_

"_In a round about way. She doesn't know it yet, but she'll figure it out." D'artagnon walked over to a wall and opened a secret passage._

"_D'artagnon." King Philip said, coming into the room "Are you sure about this?"_

"_It's the only way." D'artagnon answered "They'll never find that box. I promise."_

"_Good."_

_Queen Annabelle smiled slightly "I wish you weren't putting your life on the line like this."_

"_I'm a musketeer. It's my job." D'artagnon took a deep breath "I should go. Watch for my daughter, please."_

"_Will do." The king nodded, gripping the musketeer's hand "I shall miss you, my friend. It seems like just yesterday you saved my Annabelle's life."  
"I wish it was still yesterday." D'artagnon then dropped to one knee in front of the six year old Prince "You be good." then he winked at him "And I'm sure you won't have a problem keeping an eye on my girl when she gets here." he glanced up at the two older royals "She'll be seventeen when she comes. That's in twelve years. She's a blond beauty with blue eyes."_

_Annabelle chuckled "Those are scarce around here." she shrugged "Maybe Louis _will _keep an eye on her."_

"_Well... I need to go." D'artagnon picked up a bucket of paint "Good bye, You're Highnesses." then he walked into the passageway and closed it behind him._

_Louis stared at the spot confused "Where's he going?"_

"_Where he must." the king answered "I just hope he knows what he's doing."_

"**How do you **plan to find that box?" Renee asked.

"Because, my dad told me where it was." Corinne answered plainly.

"He what!?" The three girls exclaimed.

"What?" Louis walked in the room and stared at her "I thought..."

"I didn't realize it until a few moments ago." Corinne said quickly "But ever since that run-in with Griffin, he'd been telling me how to find it. He kept dropping little hints and he told me a riddle." she shook her head "I was five and completely oblivious to what he was doing. But now... I'm sure of it."

"Okay." Renee said slowly "What was the riddle?"

"Um..." she thought for a moment "It's been sixteen years since he told it to me!" A few more seconds of silence passed then she finally slowly said:

"Along the sand, where the sun shines

stands a place that reaches the sky

Within it's walls with stories old

hides a tale that's never been told"

For instance, the book as white as snow

Leads to a place that you will know

Within the books that a child once read

Maps of secrets of the living and dead."

"Yeah." Renee nodded "I think he was telling you where to find those secrets."

"So... along the sand." Aramina said slowly "Is that here?"

"It reaches the sky." Viveca added quickly "What about the lighthouse?"

Corinne shook her head "Don't forget, it says 'With stories old'. There's no books in the lighthouse."

"There's a library upstairs." Louis said, slightly reluctant.

Corinne looked at her friends and shrugged "Come on!" then she shot up the stairs.

Louis sighed and followed "I am not getting a good feeling about this."

The four girls burst into the library and froze. The room was ginormous! Books were all along the walls, and there was even a second story balcony that was lined with book shelves.

"Where have you been all my life?" Aramina sighed dreamily.

Renee shook her head "I'm... not looking forward to this."

"A book white as snow." Corinne said walked towards the wall of books "But it's hidden."

"What better place to hide a book then in a library?" Viveca asked "Come on. Let's look for a white book yellow with age."

Corinne blew a piece of hair out of her face "This should be fun."

A scream erupted from somewhere in the library "The whole collection of Shakespeare is here! I'm in Heaven!"

Corinne chuckled "Well, I don't think we'll be seeing much of her. Come on. We'd better get busy." she looked back at Louis to see him staring at one of the walls "Louis? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." The King answered quickly "It's... nothing." He shook his head and walked up the stairs to the balcony.

Corinne looked at the wall then at Louis and back again "I think I'm starting here."

Two hours passed, and she had just gotten to the tenth row out of the twenty that were on that one wall "Louis. Please tell me your parents didn't read all these."

He laughed as he looked up at her "My mom did."

"Whoa." Corinne pulled a white, gold bound, book from the shelf "You would not believe how many white books there are." she flipped it open, not noticing a small piece of paper float to the ground.

Louis picked it up and unfolded ti "Um... Corinne. Listen to this:

"Climb the ladder to the top

and when you get there do not stop

Above your head within the square

is a book hidden there.

And it's signed with your father's initials."

Corinne let out a huff of air "The poet my father was not." she looked up "To the top then."

Louis watched as she continued to climb the large wall "Is this anything like a tree?"

"Um... sorta. Just the trees aren't normally this tall." she finally reached the top and looked along the roof "Square. Square." she looked at all the squares lining the roof, each with a different picture in it."Which square?"

"How about the one with the little girl reading on it." Louis suggested, then he cocked his head "Hey. She looked like you."

Corinne's eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the picture "That... _is _me." she gently scratched at the blond hair of the picture till she wore it down to see brown hair behind it "He painted over it."

"Your dad had strange habits."

"Tell me about it." she ran her fingers around the edge "Come on. Where's the catch?"

"I'm guessing you found something." Renee said.

"Yeah." Corinne finally found a small crack in the ceiling "Okay... Viveca!"

The brunette immediately came "Yeah?"

"Could you toss your nail file up here?" Corinne looked down at her, halfway surprised by the distance "There's a crack right here that I can't open."

"Okay." Viveca pulled out her file "Watch out." then she flicked it up. It spun straight up then landed right in the crack and stuck.

"Sweet shot." Renee said, giving the brunette a high five.

Corinne grabbed the file and started prying the roof open. After a minute, the square swung open on rusty hinges. Inside, almost like it was on a shelf sat a snowy shite book "This is kind of weird." she called down to them "It's almost like it's defying gravity or something." she reached up and grabbed the book, but instead of it coming out, it just pulled forward "It's... a lever." she said slowly.

Just then, the book shelf in front of her opened to reveal a long dark passageway "Cool."

Louis nodded slowly "That's... what I thought."

Corinne looked down at the ground, not really relishing the thought of climbing down. She thought a second then smiled "Hey Louis!"

He looked up at her "What?"

"Catch!" then she launched herself off the ladder.

Louis gasped as he leapt forward in just enough time to catch her "What...?"

She laughed "Thank you." then she got back to the floor "Come on!" and ran into the passageway.

"We're coming!" Renee called "Aramina! Let's go!"

"Oh alright." The redhead mumbled, then squealed when she saw the opening "Oooh! Let's go!"

So, they all ran into the dark tunnels, the door way closing behind them.

Corinne looked around as they walked "I wonder which way we're supposed to go."

"How about we follow the white paint." Renee suggested pointing to a white stripe on the wall.

"Sounds like a plan."

Several minutes later, the tunnel opened out into an intersection. Eight different tunnels branched off in different directions and four of them had white paint down them.

"What was my dad thinking?" Corinne mumbled.

"I'm going to guess he was losing his mind." Renee said "Because, this... I don't know. Maybe he was just bored."

"I think he was brilliant." Aramina said from the other side "Absolutely brilliant." she was staring at the four passageways "Come here."

The others joined her, and to their amazement, all the white lines down the halls lines up to form an arrow and a message.

"Follow the arrow then count your day to find hall one, then month for hall two and last two numbers of your year for hall three, this will lead you to you next destination." Viveca read "Once you get there, remember your two favorite things for the date."

"Nope." Renee said "I still think he's crazy."

"Who's day, month and year?" Louis asked "Corinne's?"

"I guess there's only one way to find out." Corinne walked over to the passageway that the arrow had been pointing to, and slightly marveled at how the message just disappeared into white lines "Alright. Twenty-five... twelve... ninety-three."

"I'm still jealous." Aramina teased as they walked "Double presents."

"Nope. It actually cost me presents." Corinne responded.

Renee hummed a tune she was making up as they went to pass time.

After several minutes Viveca groaned "Renee! What is that?"

"I don't know." Renee shrugged "Maybe I'll name it... jeopardy. After this situation."

Finally, they reached the end. A ladder went up to the roof where a handle was protruding.

"My dad loved ladders." Corinne mumbled.

Viveca made it up first and pushed the door up. Bright light streamed through and the smell of grass and hay greeted them.

"I don't believe it." Corinne said as she and her climbed out "We're... behind my house."

"Where to now?" Louis asked.

"Leads to a place that you will know. Within the books that a child once read, maps of secrets of the living and dead." Corinne thought a second "To my old room." she quickly led them inside and into a small room.

"Cozy." Renee commented.

"Very." Corinne walked over to a small bookshelf "My dad used to read me fairytales when I was little. He was the only one that read them." she handed her friends and Louis each a book "Look for anything. A word circled or underlined. It may even just have a small dot by it."

"Okay." the others echoed.

It only took a few minutes to go through all the books, but they turned up nothing.

"Well, that fizzled." Renee said "What are we missing?"

"The message." Viveca said "He said to remember your two favorite things for the date, which was your birthday."

Corinne thought a second "My two favorite things were the glass of milk and the fireplace."

Louis laughed "He's very inventive."

"What?" She looked at him confused "What do you mean."

Louis stood up with one of the books and walked out to the living room where a fire was blazing. He flipped open the pages one by one til on one page a brown circle started to form around a word.

"I don't get it." Corinne said slowly.

"Your father circled the words in milk." Louis answered "The heat makes it scorch. Even though the milk has dried, it still scorches."

Corinne laughed and hugged him "You are wonderful!" then she looked back at her friends "Come on. Let's find out what my father did with those secrets!"

**(Okay, whether the milk would still scorch after fifteen years, I don't know. But it made a nice hint. :) Well, I hope you've enjoyed this story! Laterz!)**


	9. Getting answers

One by one, each of the books were gone through, all of them had one to three words circled word circled in it.

"This is like word scramble." Renee groaned "Makes no since whatsoever!"

"If this is another riddle," Viveca said, we'll never figure it out.

"**_You should keep your books organized, Corinne. Alphabetical order is always best."_**

"Alphabetical order." Corinne said "He always told me to keep my books in alphabetical order."

"Ooh!" Aramina stepped forward "Allow me."

"By all means."

It took Aramina all of five seconds to get the sixteen books rearranged "Tada!"

"Will wonders never cease." Renee mumbled.

Louis flipped through the books and wrote down the words in the order they appeared. Several minutes later he slid the paper over to Corinne "Here you go."

She sent him a smile and looked at the finished product:

It burned with fire and smelled of smoke

And now in ruins it lays

Ask your mother, this is no joke

if you wish to find where the secrets lay

"Maybe Griffin killed him because he couldn't stand his riddles." Renee teased.

Corinne shook her head "Come on. Let's get back. I want to ask mom about this place that burned."

"We're taking the passageway back, right?" Aramina asked "I don't want to walk the whole road distance."

"Yep." Corinne nodded "And I agree. The passageway is _much _quicker. Which is really weird."

Louis stood up and held his hands down to her "Shall we?"

"Yep." Corinne laughed as she grabbed his hands and stood.

Aramina burst into a fit of giggles as the young queen stood up on her toes and kissed the king.

Renee rolled her eyes "Can we go now? Please?"

Corinne chuckled "Let's go."

Once they got back to the palace, Corrine sought out her mother. Marie was found in the parlor still knitting.

"Mom." Corinne said with a smile "What are you doing?"

"Well, I have no chores to do so I'm bored." Marie responded "So I may as well prepare for my..."

"Momma!" Corinne laughed "Shh!"

Marie sat her knitting down in her lap "Don't tell me. You still haven't told him."

"No. I can't."

"Why not?"

"He'll try to make me give up on this whole endeavor." Corinne shook her head "I _have _to finish this. I just _have _to!"

"He deserves to know, Honey." Marie pointed out "_Before _it arrives."

"They." Corinne said with a cough.

Marie's jaw dropped "What!? Well I'd better get busy! And you had better tell him!"

"I can't!"

Marie's eyebrows lurched "Uh..."

"Mamma. I am _not _him about the babies. Not yet."

"Care to explain why?"

Corinne froze then spun around to see Louis standing in the doorway.

"That's what I was _going _to say." Marie whispered "By the way. He's behind you."

"What _'babies'_?" Louis asked slowly.

Corinne simply walked from the room.

Marie chuckled "I would love to be a fly on the wall for this whole conversation."

"Corinne." Louis said, following his wife who was heading for the door "What... _Babies_?"

Corinne remained silent as she walked for the front door, passing the girls, Tyrone and Jack on the way.

"It'd just be as friends." Tyrone was saying to Renee "You know... a friend date."

Renee nodded "Sure."

Jack... well... he was still trying to figure out why Aramina wouldn't so much as look at him.

"Why are you not answering me?" Louis asked "_Who's _babies?"

Corinne smiled at her friends and walked out the door.

"What have we missed?" Viveca asked slowly "And why on earth is he talking about..."

"Oh!" the three girls finished in unison, then they all burst out laughing.

**Corinne was making **a B-line for the lighthouse. Determined to get there before she said anything. Right when she reached the door of the lighthouse, Louis grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

"What babies, Corinne?"

She let out a long sigh "_Ours, _Louis. Ours." then she turned and walked through the door, leaving a dumbstruck Louis staring after her?

"Ours?" Louis shook his head then shot after her "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was waiting for the right time." Corinne answered, climbing the long circular staircase.

"Which would have been when?" Louis asked, still following "You weren't going to tell me because of Flint Griffin, Right?"

"Exactly."

"Corinne!" he ran up the stairs "You didn't say anything because you knew what'd I'd say."

"Exactly."

"Well, then be prepared. We're leaving."

Corinne had just stepped out onto the balcony of the lighthouse. She spun around "What!? No! Louis we can't!"

"We have to! I can't lose you and... it... them?"

"Them." Corinne shook her head "Don't you see? Flint Griffin _has _to be stopped, Louis. He'll just keep terrorizing people. He has to be stopped!"

"Then let someone else do it."

"Louis. We discussed this when we got married. _Before _we got married. I'm a musketeer. I'm going to get in danger. It's just a part of my life! I thought you understood that."

"I do. But..."

"Then what is the problem?"

Louis shook his head and grabbed her shoulders "I don't want to lose you too, Corinne! You're all I have left!"

Corinne raised one of her hands to place it over the hand on her shoulder "You're not going to lose me." she whispered "And... there's more to why I _have _to do this. I _need _to do it. I need to defeat the fear that leaves me frozen in place. And the only way to do that is to defeat the man that gave it to me."

"There's nothing wrong with being afraid." Louis said quietly.

"I know. The problem comes when you let it control you." She sighed "I've got to break that control."

After a long moment, Louis slowly nodded "I understand." then he smiled "Just please be careful."

"I will. I promise." she turned and walked over to the railing "I really do love it here."

He leaned against the railing as he had before, her in between his arms "I'm glad." another moment of silence followed "So... about the... um..."

Corinne grinned and turned around "Twins."

"Twins?" He chuckled and shook his head "Twins. What would we name them?"

Corinne's smile slowly faded as she felt the railing behind her slowly give.

"What if they're both boys?" Louis mused, looking up at the sky "Or both girls."

Corinne looked at the metal rail behind her back then down to the smaller ones that connected it to the porch. After a moment, she noticed very thin slice marks in the metal. She looked back to the larger rod that ran behind her. About a foot away on both sides were the same thing. Cuts in the metal, weakening it to the weight that was being pushed into it.

Corinne's breath caught as she felt it give a little more "Louis."She said slowly.

He looked down at her, his smile instantly vanishing "What's wrong?"

"The railing." She answered, trying to push herself away from it with as little strain as possible "It's been..."

She was cut off as whole piece of railing gave way behind her, and she and Louis were both pitched towards the hard ground.

**(NOOOOOoooooooo... *poof! Little cloud of dust* Flint Griffin returns! Mwa-ha-ha! Okay, I'm guessing two... maybe three more chapters. We'll see how much more torture Corinne and her friends will let me put them through :D Thanks for all the F-F-and-R's everyone! Laterz!)**


	10. Facing a Fear

"Corinne!"

The voices sounded so far away.

"Corinne! Where are you?"

She groaned as she tried to open her eyes. Her head hurt. So did her back and sides.

She felt a surge of alarm shoot through her and she slowly forced herself to move her arm. Every muscle in her body screamed from pain. But she forced herself to move her hand across her stomach. A few moments later she felt the relieving movement of the babies and sighed with relief.

She finally ymanaged to open her eyes and stared in confusion at the roof above her. What had happened?

"Corinne!" Aramina's voice shouted "Corinne!"

She tried to push herself up but her back hurt too bad. Where was she?

She turned her head to look around the room and recognized it as the second tower of the summer palace "How did I get here?" once again she tried to push herself up and managed to get herself to her knees "Ow!" she cringed then shouted "Second tower!"

"I heard her1" Viveca cried "What did she say?"

"I'm not sure!" Renee responded.

Corinne took a deep breath then pushed herself to her feet and stumbled over to the door. It was locked "Oh come on!" she yanked on the doorknob but couldn't get it open. She walked over to the small balcony and looked around til she spotted her friends "Hey guys!" she waved "How about coming and breaking down a door!"

"Corinne!" The three girls exclaimed in unison, then they raced into the castle.

It wasn't two minutes later that she heard the sound of them running up the stairs.

"I've got it." Viveca said, pulling a bobby pin from her hair, and s few seconds later the door opened.

"Oh Corinne we were so worried!" Aramina cried, then froze when she saw the blond leaning against the wall "And still are. What's wrong?"

"A little sore." Corinne chuckled "My muscles didn't enjoy that fall... Where's Louis?"

"Um..." Renee rubbed her head "We were... um … watching..." she grinned sheepishly as Corinne frowned "What? We can't help it!"

"You are too cute!" Aramina added "And so is Jack!"

"Then why are you ignoring him?" Viveca asked incredulously.  
"It's called playing hard to get." Aramian responded "It keeps them guessing and is sooo much fun!"

"Hey." Corinne said "Where is Louis?"

"Griffin's got him." Renee answered.

"What!?" Corinne shook her head "No. He can't! He'll kill him!" she ran her hand over her face "How did I get here?"

"Well," Viveca answered "Like Renee said, we saw you fall. So we ran up as fast as we could. By time we got there, we saw Louis getting drug away and you were... nowhere to be seen. We didn't know where they took you."

Corinne's heart was beating so hard it hurt "Where did they take Louis?"

"Um..." the three girls looked at each other then pointed out the window "There."

Corinne followed their gaze and her heart completely stopped.

About a mile from the shore was a ship. A very large ship.

Her knees buckled and she slowly slid to the ground and buried her face in her hands "No."

"We'd better tell Treville." Aramina said quietly "They'll need to find some boats to get to the ship."

"_Boats?"_ Corinne thought _"If they use boats then Griffin will see them coming and he might..."_

"We'd better." Renee agreed "Aramina, why don't you stay here with... Hey! Where are you going?!"

Corinne had launched herself off of the floor and shot out the door and down the stairs.

"Corinne!" Viveca called as the three ran after her "What are you doing? You need to see a doctor!"

Corinne just ran faster. She knew where she was going. She knew what she had to do. She also knew that if she stopped to try to explain to her friends that she'd lose her nerve and not go through with it. But she had to.

She shot out the front door of the palace and took off up the hill.  
"If she's doing what I think she's doing, I'm calling her crazy!" Renee panted as she skid to a stop.

"How about insane?" Viveca suggested.

Just then, Treville rna up to them "Where Corinne and the king."

"King's on that ship." Aramina answered around breaths of air "Corinne's heading towards the lighthouse."

"Why is she heading for the lighthouse?" The captain asked confused.

"We've got a hunch." Renee said "We're just hoping we're wrong."

"But considering the fact that she might have a concussion," Viveca added "We're probably not."

**Corinne ran as **fast as she could. Her sore muscles forgotten and her fears were being left in the dust trying frantically to catch up.

Her face was set in a dead determination as she raced towards the top.

As the top came into view, those fears caught up and tried to stop her. Tried to push her back.

But she pushed against them and kept running.

Every part of her brain screamed for her to stop. To turn around and run.

But she wouldn't.

The only thing that kept her running was the fact that Flint Griffin had Louis.

Her eyebrows lowered as the edge came closer, then without stopping, her foot connected with the side of the cliff and she launched her self out into the sea.

She heard several people scream her name but payed no heed as she splashed into the ocean.

Immediately, she felt her muscles start to stiffen, threatening to lock up but she forced herself to move. To keep going forward.

**Louis ran his **bound hands through his hair and leaned back into the mast of the ship.

Flint Griffin looked at him and grinned "Oh. You look worried. What's the matter? We took her inside."

Louis simply glared at him then looked away. He could still see the look on her face when she'd noticed the railing. And he had been too busy going on about the twins to notice her concern until it was too late. And now, he may have lost all of them.

Corinne had taken the bunt of the seventy foot drop. She had been between him and the ground, resulting in him still being conscious after the landing.

She had been knocked out, which scared him to death. Then Griffin and his thugs had appeared from nowhere and grabbed him.

"Don't worry, Your Highness." Griffin had sneered "She's only got a major concussion." then he'd ordered some of his men to take her to one of the castle towers where no one would expect to find her.

Louis had felt his heart crumble as he'd watched them carry her away. He knew she needed help. But it was possible she wasn't going to get it.

He forced himself to not even think about the babies. Was there any way they could have survived?

"I warned her." Griffin said "She had the choice to find it. She didn't find it so she loses the one who means the world to her."

"There's a lot more people in her world." Louis said through gritted teeth "Including you."

"Yes. But I'm the one who _ends _her world." Griffin knelt down in front of him "Allow me to enlighten how long I've been working on tearing her down." He started counting off on her fingers "When she was five, I dropped her in the river. When she was six I kill her father."

Louis' eyes started widening.

"When she was seven, me and my men broke into her house. The poor thing froze and had to get rescued by her mother. When she was eight, I burned down her house, And when she was nine, I shot her horse which caused her to break a couple of ribs." Griffin smiled evilly "I've done well. Haven't I?"

"There was one difference between then and now."

Griffin spun around as Corinne jumped to the deck, her hair and clothes were soaked "I was afraid of you then." she said as she slowly walked towards "I'm not afraid of you now."

Louis and Griffin both stared at her in disbelief.

"_How is she walking?" _Louis wondered, then he shook his head and chuckled "Corinne."

Griffin's eyebrows lowered "How did you get here? You're afraid of the water!"

Corinne smiled and pushed a wet piece of hair from her face "Past history." then her face returned to serious "You made one mistake, Griffin. You messed with the wrong person." she nodded towards Louis "Anyone who tries to hurt him or one of my friends doesn't last long."

"You're friends aren't here." Griffin sneered.

"Don't bank on it!" Renee responded as she and the other two pulled themselves over the edge.

Aramina flopped to the deck in exhaustion "Can... we... hold the fight... for a few moments? Phew!"

Griffin rolled his eyes "Take your time." then he pulled out her sword "But I don't wait."

Viveca wrung out the end of her dress then straightened up her eyes shooting fire "I'll have you know, Flint Griffin, that I swam through _water _to get here! And it mussed my dress and messed up my hair!"

Griffin's eyebrows lurched "Oh. My apologies, my lady." then he scoffed and shouted "Men! Take them!"

Corinne turned to her friends as she pulled out her sword "Do what you want, but Griffin in mine."

"Enjoy." Renee said with a nod, then she and the others pulled out their weapons and met the men head on.

Treville and the other musketeers reached the ship a few moments later and helped even the odds, freeing Corinne to go face Flint Griffin on her own.

**(Dooo dun duuuuun! Woohoo! Okay. Anyways... yeah. LATERZ! Thanks for all the F-Fs and Rs!**

**P.S. By the way, for all you people reading Mattel High. I am sooo sorry for the super long delays between chapters. But I think I bit off more than I can chew with that story. So, if anyone wants to throw some idea at me, let me know. My brain doesn't work well enough for that kind of combustion. Laterz!)**


	11. Grffin's due and a lurking stranger

"Ah. The brave Queen coming to the rescue." Griffin sneered.

Corinne walked towards him, her sword drawn.

"You think you're brave." The man continued to taunt "But you're only courage is behind that sword of yours."

Corinne shook her head "Fine." she tossed her sword down "Then put away the weapons and we'll finish then hand to hand."

Griffin's eyebrows lurched "Fine." he tossed his sword across the deck "But you do understand, I've got years of experience in this area."

Corinne nodded and smiled "As do I. I couldn't hold a sword til I was seven. My father had been teaching me to fight since I could stand."

"Aw... isn't that precious!" Then he threw a heavy fist at her.

Corinne ducked then grabbed his arm and flipped him onto the deck "He also taught me that I can use someone's strength against them. Kind of like using it as my own." she jumped back as another punch flew in her direction.

"You're useless!" The man growled "As useless as your father was!" he made a grab for her, but she dropped to the ground and kicked his feet out from under him. A loud *THUD* sounded as the man hit the deck. With a growl, he lurced back to his feet, his eyes wide and angry "I will not rest til the D'artagnon name has been removed... FOREVER!" he made another launch for her and she took off running across the deck.

The girls and musketeers had managed to get all of Griffin's minions down and tied.

Aramina walked over to Louis and untied him "Hi, Your Majesty."

Louis nodded then backed up, looking at the sky. No one had noticed the sky clouding over, or a wind starting to pick up.

Corinne leaned against the railing of the ship and waited.

With a growl of anger, Griffin grabbed his sword off the deck and started up the rope ladder.

"I thought the rules were no weapons." Corinne countered.

"There are no rules in battle!" the man fumed "Only one survives!" he held his sword out towards her "And that _one_ will be me!" he swung the sharp blade in her direction.

To avoid the blow, she leapt up onto the railing of the ship.

Just then, some air caught the sails and the ship started to shift.

"Whoa!" Corinne cried as she fought to keep her balance.

No body breathed as Griffin grinned and started towards her.

Corinne managed to regain her footing just as the man swung at her again.

She flipped out of the way and back to the deck. One look at the sky told her they were in for a ride.

At that moment, a large wave hit the side of the ship, jolting the thing violently.

Everyone stumbled. Some managed to remain upright, but some fell.

Corinne couldn't keep her footing and stumbled backwards. The seconds the back of her head hit the deck, everything began to spin. She shook it off and got back to her feet.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that the loser faces the storm." Griffin snarled.

Everything was still spinning and the rocking ship didn't help. Griffin seemed to divide into four people, all advancing towards her.

"Okay." Renee said "It's time to go help."

The girls charged up to where Griffin was and stood between the man and their friend.

"Good luck, Griffin." Renee said "But you're not getting to our friend!"

Corinne shook her head again, trying desperately to make the world stop spinning "Get him to the edge." she whispered.

Aramina hear it in nodded, then with a slight nod of the head told the others.

Griffin swung his sword at the red head who blocked it with one of her fans then spun the man around.

Renee took the opportunity and gave him a hard shove from the back, at the same moment, Vivevca flicked her ribbons, wrapping them around his feet, causing him to stumble and slid across the deck.

He side the railing to stand back up, his face was red and he was breathing angrily.

The three girls ran towards him, but at the last second, they split, causing the man to be momentarily confused before he noticed that Corinne had been right behind them.

Her foot caught him across the jaw and he went flying over the endge and into the water below.

"Go ahead and get him." Corinne said to Treville "There's no need to take the chance of him getting away."

Treville nodded, and called some of the men to help him.

Louis ran up to Corinne and grabbed her shoulders "You have _got _to stop scaring me like this!" then he pulled her into a tight hug.

Corinne smiled as she leaned into him. Her head was still spinning like crazy. Everything was blurry. She was surprised that she had kicked the right Griffin into the water. She closed her eyes and willed everything to just stand still.

Louis just stood there, holding her close. Relieved that he still had her.

Just then, he felt her go limp and quickly picked her up "I think it's time for her to see that doctor."

"Yeah." the other three agreed.

"**Everything is fine." **The doctor said "You're lucky"

Corinne smiled sheepishly "Yeah. I get that a lot." She looked over at Louis who was shaking his head

"You do have a very small concussion." the man added "Also lucky."

Corinne nodde "What about the..."

"They're fine also." The Doctor shook his head "After everything that happened to you, I'm surprised. You've got some very strong children." he patter her head like she was child herself "They'd have to be downright stubborn to put up with that kind of adventure."

Louis sighed "More stubborn. Just like their mother."

Corinne chuckled "Can... I get up now. There's some place I _have _to go."

"Yes." the man nodded "Just take it easy."

"Don't worry. It won't be hard." Corinne got up from the bed "Thanks Doc!"

The Doctor looked over at Louis "Your Majesty. You've got a stubborn wife."  
"Don't I know it." Louis laughed slightly "You can't stop her for anything."

"She's always been that way." the older man started putting away his equipment "I was with Marie when she was born. And let me tell you, she wasn't coming til she was ready!" he laughed "We all knew she was destined for great things. We just didn't think she'd go this far." he placed a hand on the king's shoulders "I believe you made a wonderful choice. She won't give up on France when things get hard. It's a reassuring thought."

Louis smiled and nodded "Thank you."

"**Mom?" Corinne called **as she walked through the castle "I need to ask you a question!"

"I'm right here." Marie answered "Are you okay?"

"Perfect." Corinne handed the piece of paper with their father's last riddle on it to her mom "Do you know what he's talking about?"

Marie stared at it for a second then nodded "When I was a little girl, there was a town not too far from were we live now. It burnt to the ground and was never rebuilt. Its charred remains are still there to this day."

"Then that must be where the box is." Corinne said slowly "Thanks mom!" she quickly kissed her mother's cheek then ran to find her friends "Mount up. We're going to go find what my dad died trying to keep safe."

"Alright!" Renee cheered "Let's go!"

**Three hours later **they reached the charred remains of what had been a town. Rain was starting to gently fall from the sky.

"Whoa." Viveca whispered "Talk about black."

"It's so sad!" Aramina gasped "I'll bet it was beautiful once!"

"Kind of depressing." Louis agreed.

"How do we find where your father buried it?" Renee asked.

Corinne looked around "I don't... hey. Is that what I think it is?"

The others followed her gaze.

"It's a musketeer sword." Viveca nodded "And It's old. But definitely newer than these ashes!"

"Might as well try it." Louis shrugged "Just be careful."

"Aren't I always?" Corinne grinned, sliding out of her saddle.

"No." the others echoed, then they followed.

Corinne grabbed the sword and twisted it. Then she pulled it. It wouldn't come out of the ground "What did he... do?" she released the handle and frowned "Where's the riddle?"

Viveca cocked her head "On the blade." she squinted "It's not a lever or pull, but the opposite."

"So... push?" Corinne pushed down on the handle and very slowly it began to sink in.\

after the whole thing was in the ground, a door opened.

"There are secret passageways everywhere!" Viveca exclaimed.

Aramina pointed to the wall "And a note writing in the dirt. Follow directions from before. Only the whole year now."

Corinne's eyebrows lurched "Can anyone count to seventeen hundred?" they all laughed then started down the hallways.

What seemed like an eternity later, they came to a solid stone wall that had a hand print in it with a circle and crown in the palm.

"Now what?"

Louis stared at it a second then pulled a coin out of his pocket "Try this."

Corinne looked at it. It had a crown in the middle "What is this?"

"It's a family heirloom." Louis shrugged "I can't remember what it stand for."

Corinne turned to face the wall "How did Dad know you'd be with me?" she pressed her hand into the wall with the coin. The wall gave a loud groan then moved.

A rather large room stood beyond the wall. As they entered, lanterns began to light themselves.

"This is kind of scary." Aramina whispered.

"Hey look." Renee pointed to the center of the room "There's a box."

The small group hurried over to it, not noticing a dark figure lurking in the shadows.

Corinne dropped to her knees beside the box and looked at the lock "Six letters." she began to spin the small dials around til she had MARCOR.

"Marcor?" Viveca asked slowly "Who is Marcor?"

Corinne smiled as the lid unsnapped "Marie and Corinne."

"Oh."

"Well, Louis." Corinne said, sitting back on her heels "Open the box."

Louis smiled and obeyed. Inside were a bunch of old folded papers.  
"Be careful." Renee warned "This is pulp paper. To much movement and it'll turn to dust."

"Got it." Corinne nodded, gently unfolding one. It crackled with age as it was opened for the first time in a hundred years "What is this?" there were lines drawn all over it "It looked like a map."

Viveca pulled out another one and gently opened it "It _is _a map." hers had an outine of France on it, covered in lines.

Louis took it from her and frowned "They're even over the castle."

The shadowy figure slowly started walking towards them.

"Wait." Corinne took the paper and looked at it "It's maps to passageways all over France!" she ran her fingers along the routes "They're like catacombs. They run beneath the cities." she shook her head "No wonder this had to be hidden! Can you imagine Flint Griffin getting ahold of thses? He's have access to anywhere in France he wanted to go. Including the castle."

"Yeah." Louis nodded "Okay. I think we'd better leave these where they're at. They're safer here than anywhere else."

Corinne's ears caught the ever so slight sound of a foot on the soft dirt.

"Wow." Renee looked at the map "They're everywhere!"

"They even go out into the countries!" Viveca added "Look. We used it to get to Corinne's farm!"

Corinne sat still and listened.

Ever so slightly, she heard the sound of a sword being drawn from it's sheath. It sounded about what it sounds like when you pull a needle from a pin cushion. Her hand crept over to her side as the steps came closer.

"I am so glad Griffin didn't get these." Aramina stated "We'd all be doomed!"

Just then, Corinne leapt to her feet and spun around, the sound of two swords clashing echoed through the small room.

All the lanterns went out and the others jumped back. Louis grabbed the box as he did.

It was a blond fight, but both fighters managed to stay right by each other.

"If I knew which one wasn't Corinne, I'd sling shot him." Renee mumbled.

"What is it you want?" Corinne snapped "You're not getting that box!"

Just then, the other figure stopped and chuckled "You've improved."

The sword dropped from Corinne's hand and she backed up "What!?"


	12. Returning

Corinne took another step back, wondering if she'd really just heard that voice. A familiar voice. Yet one she hadn't heard in ages.

"What's going on?" Aramina whispered.

Renee shook her head "I've been in the dark so many times on this case, I'm done trying to guess."

Very slowly, the figure walked over to a wall and lit one of the torches, immediately all the others flared up.

Corinne held her breath as the man turned around. His brown hair was streaked with gray, as was his beard and mustache. But it was the steely blue eyes that made her shake her head in disbelief.

"Hi." He said quietly.

Corinne took another step away from him "I don't believe this." she spun around and marched over to the far wall, pushed in a brick and watched as the wall slid back Then she stormed out.

"How did she know that was there?" Viveca asked.

The man stared after the blond before sighing and following.

Louis followed quickly, thinking the man looked _really _familiar, But he couldn't place him.

"Corinne." The man called as he stepped out into the air.

She was staring at the sky, paying no mind to the pouring rain "What happened to you?" she turned to face her father "We thought you were dead!"

"I'm sorry." D'artagnon walked over to her "I didn't _want _to do that! I had no choice!"

"Why not?" Her icy eyes were sparking with a mixture between anger and hurt "For the past sixteen years I thought I would never see you again! Why didn't you come home?"

"I couldn't." D'artagnon kept his voice even and calm "I faked my death to protect you."

"Really?" she shook her head "Did you do it to protect me? Or protect yourself?"

"Listen to me." D'artagnon grabbed his daughter;s shoulders "I told Griffin you knew where those secrets were!"

"What!? Why?!'

"Because, he wouldn't hurt you." the former musketeer shook his head "As long as I was around he threatened me with you. Then I told him that you knew where that box was then faked my death." he looked her in the face "He may have threatened your life but he would never have killed you because you were the only person that could get him what he wanted." he took a deep breath and let it out in a huff "I can assure you, Corinne. Leaving you and Marie was the _last _think I wanted to do, Someday you'll learn that when you're a parent you life revolves around your children and their safety. And sometimes, you have to do things you would rather not to keep them safe."

Corinne instantly thought of the twins and shook her head "Dad. I think you should know something..."

"Not now." D'artagnon interrupted "Flint Griffin could come riding by. He can;t see me."  
"Flint Griffin's in the dungeon." Renee spoke up "Again."

"What?"

"Yep." Aramina nodded "He's awaiting his final sentence."

"Which will probably be death." Louis added "Considering his charges. Between thievery and two accounts of attempted murder of the queen... his sentence won't be pretty."

D'artagnon looked at the young man curiously "He tried to kill your mother?"

Corinne chuckled softly "No, Dad." she stepped away from him and went to go stand beside Louis "He tried to kill me. _I'm _the queen."

D'artagnon's eyes got about the size of saucers "You?"

Louis shrugged and slid his arm around her shoulders "I know. It came as a shock to most."

"My wild banchee Corinne went to Paris to be a musketeer and ended up the queen instead?"

"Not exactly." Corinne smiled "I became a musketeer and _then _the queen. But I'm still a musketeer."

The older man stared at her dumbfounded then burst into laughter. He pulled his daughter into a tight hug "I never would have believed it!"

Corinne let out a breath of relief "I'm glad you're back."

D'artagnon smiled "Me too."

**Words could not **describe the look on Marie's face when she saw her 'dead' husband step through the door.

"Jeremiah Ezra D'artagnon!" she cried "Where on earth have you been? I thought you were dead!"

"I'm sorry." D'artagnon said sheepishly.

"You had better apologize, young man!" Marie rubbed her forehead "Oh my.'" then with tears streaming down her face she stepped into his arms "I thought I'd never see you again!"

Everyone else quietly left the room, leaving the two to their reunion.

"What's going on?" Treville asked.

"Dad's back." Corinne answered.

"What!?" Treville ran into the room "D'artagnon! How... What... Who...?"

The girls burst into laughter.

"That's very becoming, Captain." Aramina giggled.

"Glad to see you back." Tyrone samiled "And with your dead father too."

Jack walked over to Aramina "Hi Aramina."

The redhead looked up at him and smiled brilliantly "Hello Jack."

Corinne smiled and shook her head. Then her eyes started to sparkle with mischief "You know what. There's something I've been dying to do since we got here. I was just too scared to try." with that, she ran for the balcony that branched out over the water.

"She isn't!" Louis groaned, then he took off after her. When he reached the balcony, she was nowhere in sight. The rain had stopped and now the sun was shining brightly.

"Where did she go?" Renee mumbled as she, the other two and Louis looked over the railing.

"I have no ide-WHOA!" Louis suddenly shouted as Corinne tackled him from behind, sending them both flying into the water.

"Corinne!" Louis gasped "What are you..?"

He was cut off as she sent a giant splash his way.

D'artagnon chuckled as he stepped out onto the balcony, his arm wrapped securely around his wife "I see being royalty hasn't changed her none."

"Are you kidding?" Marie laughed "I don't think anything could get her to change. She's too stubborn."

"Yep. She gets that from your side of the family."

"Oh no she does not!"

"Well, they can play in the water," Viveca said "But I'm not!" Just then, she was doused with cold water "Corinne!" She shrieked.

"Well," Aramina shrugged "We're wet now." then with a push, she sent Renee and Viveca tumbling into the water, then jumped in "Woohoo!"

"Aramina!" Viveca and Renee gasped in unison.

Corinne laughed then dove out of sight.

Louis looked around and frowned "Now where did she go?"

Corinne popped up behind him, grabbed his shoulders and pulled him under the water.

"Just like a couple of kids." Treville said, shaking his head.

When Louis came back up, he managed to grab Corinne before she could escape, fully planning on pay back.

But she looked up at him, cocked her head and smiled "Can I help you, Your Highness?"

Any thoughts of revenge completely fled his mind "I'm sure you can." he chuckled, then he pulled her close and kissed her.

Aramina giggled "Never gets old."

D'artagnon shook his head "_That _is something I never thought I'd see my daughter do." then he glanced over at Marie, swept her off her feet and jumped over the railing.

"Jeremiah!" Marie gasped "Are you out of your mind!?"

"I've been trying to figure that out." He responded.

Corinne laughed then tackled her father, pushing him under the water.

**A few weeks **later, their time on the coast was over.

D'artagnon decided to go back to Gascony with his wife to help with the farm.

Aramina and Jack managed to get several dates in after Aramina finally declared that playing hard to get wasn't half as fun as the books made it sound.

Renee and Tyrone also has several more 'Friend' outings.

And Treville... he was glad to just be going back to Paris.

**Corinne sat down **one of the cases on the front steps and looked out at the ocean "We're going to _have _to bring the balloon here sometime. Just so I can see it from the sky."

Louis smiled and kissed her cheek "Anything." then she went to go help collect the rest of the stuff.

Renee stepped up beside Corinne and grinned "Oooooh. So sweet."

Corinne rolled her eyes "Renee. We _are _married_._"

"Still." the dark girl shrugged "So much displayed in public! It's distressing!"

Corinne shook her head then reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper "Here. Look at this." she smiled mischievously as she stuck it in her hand "Later." then she turned and walked off.

Renee curiously unfolded the paper. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the picture, surprisingly good, sketched inside. It was of a couple kissing. But not any couple.

"What's up?" Aramina asked "Why are you blushing?" then she saw the paper and grabbed it "Hey! It's a picture of you kissing Tyrone!" Renee's face reddened as Aramina went on "Oh wow! I must have really happened! Wait..." she cocked her head "Did Corinne draw this?"

Louis stepped up behind her and looked at the paper "Yeah. You should have heard her laughing when she came back from stalking them on their date." he sat down the last case and looked around.

"She followed me!?" Renee gasped "Oh I am going to get her! Where is she anyways? It's almost time to leave."

Louis smiled "I think I know." then he walked away.

"I cannot believe she did that!" Renee huffed.

**Corinne leaned against **the railing as the cool ocean breeze whipped across her face. She was sad to be leaving, but it was time to go.

"I thought you'd be up here." Louis said, stepping out behind her "I take it the railing's safe?"

"Yes." Corinne laughed, looking back at him "I checked... twice."

He smiled then leaned against the railing on either side of her "Sad to leave?"

"Yeah." she nodded "But... we have to get back. Paris is calling." she looked up at him for a moment "You know. You never _really _told me why you wanted to come back."

He looked out towards the horizon "I wanted to reconnect with the place. I hated it here." he shook his head "My mom died here. Then a couple years later my father came here and died of a heartbreak." he shook his head "I thought this was the place of doom." he looked down at her "I finally decided to just... try it again. Get a good memory to remember."

Corinne smiled "It took a little while for things to settle down, but did you get the memory you wanted?"

He nodded "I did." he gently tipped her chin up "I got the memory of being here with you. And that's all I ever really wanted." then he slid his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a loving embrace.

Corinne sighed contentedly as she laid her head on his chest "Me too."

THE END

**(The end... *sigh* parting is such sweet sorrow. Well, this story has finally come to an end, which means... another one can begin! Woohoo! Thanks you everyone for your continued support to me and this story! I will see you soon in another story coming soon! Laterz!)**


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